Nov. 11, 2010

Friday, Nov. 12 - Davis, Calif.
- at - No. 14 UC Davis (15-8) - 6 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 14 - Stanford, Calif.
- vs. - No. 6 Pacific (14-8, 2-3 MPSF) - 12 p.m.

Weekly Notes

STANFORD, Calif. - No. 3 Stanford men's water polo will stay in Northern California for a pair of contests this weekend, first traveling to Davis for a Friday evening contest at 6 p.m. against the No. 14 UC Davis Aggies, then returning home to host No. 6 Pacific in a 12 p.m. MPSF contest for Senior Day at Avery Aquatic Center.

About The Opposition
No. 14 UC Davis (15-8) enters Friday's contest having dropped its past two decisions, most recently a home loss to Loyola Marymount on Nov. 5. Friday night's contest will be the first meeting of the season between Stanford and UC Davis.

The Aggies are led offensively by Aaron Salit, who has scored 43 goals on the year, and Cory Lyle, who has tallied 31. In the cage, Kevin Peat is averaging 10.4 saves per game with a goals-against average of 7.1.

Pacific enters this weekend ranked sixth in the national polls, moving up a spot from last week after defeating No. 6 UC Santa Barbara 8-7 on Sunday. The Tigers have split their last eight games and have gone 2-2 in their four MPSF contests in that span.

The Tigers are led on offense by Goran Tomasevic, who has tallied 45 goals so far in 2010. In the cage, Alex Malkis averages 8.50 saves per game, second-best in the MPSF.

Last Time Out
Stanford swept a pair of MPSF contests last weekend to move into second place in the conference at 5-1. The Cardinal opened the weekend Saturday with an 11-6 victory over No. 8 Long Beach State, then followed up with a suffocating defensive effort in Sunday's 7-2 win over No. 5 UC Irvine.

Jacob Smith led the Cardinal with seven goals over the weekend, while Sage Wright scored five times and Jeffrey Schwimer tallied four goals. In the cage, Brian Pingree made eight saves in Saturday's win before anchoring Sunday's performance with 11 saves that helped keep UC Irvine off the scoreboard for the game's opening 20:23.

In The National Rankings
Stanford moved up one spot to No. 3 spot in this week's Varsity Top 20 Poll after its weekend sweep of MPSF foes Long Beach State and UC Irvine.

Senior Day Sendoff
Sunday's contest at home against Pacific will mark Senior Day, the final regular-season home game for Stanford players Eric Clapper, Alex Pulido, Jeffrey Schwimer and Sage Wright. Clapper, a Coronado native, has scored one goal in his Stanford career, and although he has not seen as much playing time as the others, has been an invaluable asset preparing the team in practice. Pulido, a La Jolla native, enters the weekend with 43 career goals as part of Stanford's talented perimeter offense, while Schwimer, with 51 career goals, has been a key player at the two-meter spot for the Cardinal in his career, earning All-America honorable mention last year. Wright, a fifth-year senior who redshirted 2009 due to injury, is a two-time All-America selection who has scored 72 career goals as a part of Stanford's dangerous perimeter offense.

Quite The Weekend, Sir
Junior driver Jacob Smith had yet another prolific weekend, scoring a combined seven goals in Stanford's home sweep of MPSF foes Long Beach State and UC Irvine. Smith opened the weekend with four goals in Saturday's 11-6 win over the 49ers, scoring two of those goals on five-meter penalty shots. Sunday against UC Irvine, he hit two more penalty shots and scored a goal in the run of play for his second hat trick of the weekend. On the year, Smith has tallied a career-high 42 goals to lead the Cardinal.

Pingree Enjoys The Home Cooking
Stanford goalie Brian Pingree turned in a pair of fine performances over the weekend, making a combined 19 saves over Stanford's two wins. In Sunday's win over UC Irvine, Pingree anchored a defensive effort that held the Anteaters scoreless for the first 20:23 of the game, allowing Stanford's offense to build a 7-0 lead. Pingree has turned in some of his best efforts of the year at Avery Aquatic Center, as in the team's previous home game on Oct. 9 at USC, he made 14 saves in a 5-3 Stanford win. Over three home games this year, Pingree is averaging 11.0 saves per game with a goals-against average of 3.67.

Undefeated At Home
Stanford's weekend sweep of Long Beach State and UC Irvine from Nov. 6-7 extended the Cardinal's home winning streak to 13 games. Last year, the Cardinal went a perfect 10-0 at Avery Aquatic Center. It marked Stanford's first undefeated home campaign since going 9-0 at Avery in 2005. Since the 2005 season, Stanford has put up an impressive 41-7 record (.854) at Avery Aquatic Center.

Among The MPSF Leaders
Stanford men's water polo is represented among the top-20 scorers in the MPSF rankings through Nov. 1. Jacob Smith is fourth in the conference with 2.47 goals per game while Jeffrey Schwimer and Sage Wright are tied for 18th with 1.53 goals per game.

Goalie Brian Pingree is fourth in the conference with 7.41 saves per game and fifth with a 7.19 goals-against average. On the team level, Stanford ranks third in total offense scoring 11.53 goals per game and fourth in total defense, allowing 7.24 goals a game.

Stanford To Host 2010 MPSF Tournament
Stanford will be hosting the 2010 MPSF Men's Water Polo Championship over Thanksgiving Weekend, Nov. 26-28 at Avery Aquatic Center. Fans can now purchase tickets as all-session passes are now available on www.gostanford.com or by calling 1-800-STANFORD.