Men's Water Polo Ranked #8 in WWPA Championship Tournament

Los Angeles, CA (Nov. 12, 2007) – UC Davis, who set the program record for wins with a mark of 20-6 in the regular season, has been tabbed the top seed for the upcoming Western Water Polo Association Men’s Water Polo Championship hosted by the United States Air Force Academy Friday, Nov. 16 – Sunday, Nov. 18. The Aggies went a perfect 15-0 against fellow WWPA teams to earn the No. 1 seed.

Following UC Davis will be No. 2 Santa Clara, No. 3 Loyola Marymount, No. 4 UC San Diego, No. 5 Air Force, No. 6 Redlands, No. 7 Pomona-Pitzer, No. 8 UC Santa Cruz and No. 9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Action will begin on Friday, Nov. 16 at the Cadet Natatorium on the campus of the Air Force Academy outside of Colorado Springs.

The Aggies will face off the winner of the championship play-in game between No. 8 seed UC Santa Cruz and No. 9 seed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. UCSC finished 5-7 against the WWPA this season and 7-17 overall while CMS went 7-8 in the WWPA and 13-14 overall. UCSC and CMS wil start the tournament at 10:30 a.m. (MT) on Friday. UC Davis will play the winner at 6:30 p.m. (MT)

Santa Clara, who earns its highest seed in program history, went 11-4 against teams in the WWPA and 16-11 overall. They will take on No. 7 Pomona-Pitzer, who is coming off a championship in the SCIAC tournament this past weekend. They are 17-17 on the season and 10-5 against the WWPA. The will play at 5:00 p.m. (MT)

LMU enters the tournament with its lowest seed in eight years after going 10-15 overall and 6-4 against the WWPA. The Lions played 23 of its 25 games against top-20 opponents this season, the most among all 14 teams in the WWPA. They will play Redlands, who is 21-12 overall and went 12-3 against teams in the WWPA. They will play at 3:30 p.m. (MT)

Rounding out the games will be the defending champions, UCSD, taking on host Air Force. The Tritons enter the tournament at 10-16 overall and 8-6 in the WWPA while Air Force is 12-13 and 5-5 against the WWPA.

2007 WWPA Championship Seedings:

1.   UC Davis

2.   Santa Clara University

3.   Loyola Marymount University

4.   UC San Diego

5.   United States Air Force Academy

6.   Redlands University

7.   Pomona Pitzer University

8.   UC Santa Cruz

9.   Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

2007 WWPA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Friday, November 16 - Dark Caps vs. White Caps                           

Game 1 - 10:30 am  - No. 8 UC Santa Cruz vs. No. 9 Claremont (Championship play-in)

Game 2 - 2:00 pm - No. 4 UC San Diego vs. No. 5 Air Force

Game 3 - 3:30 pm - No. 3 LMU vs. No. 6 Redlands

Game 4 - 5:00 pm - No. 2 Santa Clara vs. No. 7 Pomona-Pitzer

Game 5 - 6:30 pm - No. 1 UC Davis vs. Winner Game 1

Saturday, November 17 - Dark Caps vs. White Caps                                   

Game 6 - 10:30 am - Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 1  (Consolation play-in)

Game 7 - 2:00 pm - Winner Game 4   vs. Winner Game 3  (Semifinals)

Game 8 - 3:30 pm - Winner Game 5   vs. Winner Game 2  (Semifinals)

Game 9 - 6:00 pm - Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 5  (Consolation)

Game 10 - 7:30 pm - Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 6  (Consolation)

Sunday, November 18            - Dark Caps vs. White Caps                                         

Game 11 - 10:30 am - Loser Game 9 vs. Loser Game 10                   7th

Game 12 - 12:00 pm - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 5th

Game 13 - 1:30 pm - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8                       3rd

Game 14 - 3:00 pm - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8     Championship

Follow the championships online at www.WesternWaterPolo.org