June 21, 2012

2012 Stanford Men's Water Polo Schedule

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford Men's Water Polo announced its 2012 schedule and three of its contests will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks, the conference revealed Thursday.

The Cardinal, which finished last season ranked fourth in the nation with a 19-7 record, will feature on the Pac-12 Network three times this fall. Cameras will roll for the Cardinal's MPSF opener Saturday, October 6 against USC at Avery Aquatic Center, for The Big Splash at California on Saturday, October 20 and an MPSF date at UCLA on Friday, November 9.

Start times will be announced between 6-12 days before each contest. The Pac-12 Networks will televise a total of seven water polo games in 2012, beginning September 22 with Loyola Marymount at UCLA. This fall, the network will air 217 contests over 100 days during its inaugural fall season.

"Our team is eagerly looking forward to the challenges of the upcoming season," said Stanford head coach John Vargas. "We are also very excited for the launch of the Pac-12 Networks and the chance to showcase the Stanford program, Avery Aquatic Center and the sport of water polo on this new platform."

In 2012 the Cardinal returns All-Americans Alex Bowen (53 goals in 2011) and Forrest Watkins (42 goals), in addition to senior leaders Paul Rudolph (25 goals) and Travis Noll (16 goals).

Stanford's 2012 schedule also includes home contests against MPSF foes UC Irvine (Oct. 27), Long Beach State (Oct. 28) and Pacific (Nov. 16), with the first two contests set for noon Saturday starts, and the latter for a 5 p.m. Friday evening start.

The Cardinal will also host the 16-team NorCal Invitational Saturday and Sunday, September 15-16 at Avery Aquatic Center.

The campaign opens in Irvine over Labor Day Weekend, as the Cardinal takes part in the UC Irvine Invite Saturday, September 1.

Stanford will participate in three more tournaments during the regular season. After hosting the NorCal Invite, the Cardinal will defend its SoCal Tournament title from Saturday to Sunday, September 29-30 in Santa Barbara, then take part in the Rodeo Tournament at Santa Clara University on October 21.

The MPSF Championship is set for November 23-25 at USC, while the National Collegiate Championship, also hosted by USC, takes place December 1-2.

The Pac-12 Networks launch August 15 and will consist of one national and six regional networks devoted solely to the Pac-12. In addition to the hundreds of live televised Pac-12 sporting events, Pac-12 Networks subscribers will have access to their carrier's TV Everywhere platform, providing access to all Pac-12 Networks programming on any device through their broadband service. Fans can find out if they can get Pac-12 Networks by visiting www.Pac-12.org or by contacting their television provider.