Water Polo Returns to Action with Five Games in California

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (5-6) heads west to California for five games over the weekend. The Midshipmen open the weekend at the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament, where the Mids will take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Friday, 3:45 p.m. ET), Biola (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), and No. 14 Santa Clara (Saturday, 1:15 p.m. ET). Navy continues the road swing at No. 3 UCLA (Saturday, 9:00 p.m. ET) before concluding competition against No. 9 San Jose State (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET).
 
Live stats will be available for each game, while live video will be available throughout the Gary Troyer Tournament.
 
Gary Troyer Tournament
Pomona-Pitzer, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, La Verne, and Occidental are the hosts of the 2021 Gary Troyer Tournament. The tournament features 27 programs from across the country to compete in a total of 47 games over two days, Oct. 1-2.
 
In the fall of 1970, Professor of Physical Education Gary Troyer started at Pomona College as the water polo and swimming coach. A quintessential NCAA Division III coach, he won SCIAC titles in men’s water polo (1981) and women’s swimming (1977, 1978). Leading athletic teams with a precise understanding of the academic and athletic balance required at a highly rigorous institution, Troyer mentored countless All-Conference swimmers and water polo players, as well as numerous school-record holders and All-Americans. While at Pomona College, Troyer taught SCUBA, Sailing, and Windsurfing, along with all of the Red Cross classes in First Aid, CPR, Life Saving and Water Safety.
 
Troyer retired from coaching water polo in 2001 but continued to coach swimming and diving for three more years. Troyer then fully retired from Pomona in 2004, and was inducted into the Pomona-Pitzer Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005 for Distinguished Service. In 2007, Troyer was awarded the SCIAC Distinguished Service Award. Troyer passed away on December 10, 2011.
 
Media Coverage
All games of the Gary Troyer Tournament are slated to have live stats and will be live streamed. For information about live stats and video, check out the Gary Troyer Tournament Central.
 
Navy’s games against No. 3 UCLA and No. 9 San Jose State will have live stats.
 
In addition, fans can follow Navy water polo on social media. For all in-game action, follow the Midshipmen on Twitter at @NavyWaterPolo. For more information on the Mids water polo team, follow them on Instagram (@NavyWaterPolo) and Facebook (@NavyWaterPolo).
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Midshipmen enter the weekend with a 5-6 overall record, following a 1-3 performance last week. The Mids defeated Wagner in a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) game, but dropped games against Air Force, No. 9 Princeton, and No. 14 Fordham.
 
Offensively, the Mids are led by Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.), Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.), Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.), Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.), and Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.). Salinas leads all Midshipmen with 30 total points, including a team-best 24 goals. Altmayer leads the team with 12 assists and has chipped in seven goals for 19 total points. Pang has been balanced tallying 14 points on six goals and eight helpers. Weggeland (7g 3a) and Clark (5g 5a) round out Navy’s double-digit scorers with 10 points apiece.
 
Defensively, Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) have seen a majority of the action. Capobianco leads the team with 84 saves in nine games played, while registering a team-high 12 steals. Sandberg has played in six games with 40 stops and six steals.
 
Scouting the Opposition

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (4-7)

Tournament hosts, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, enters the weekend with a 4-7 overall record. The Midshipmen hold an 11-2 overall record against the Stags. Offensively, CMS is led by Will Clark and Sam Harrison. Clark has a team high 23 points on 12 goals and a team-best 11 assists, while Harrison leads the team with 14 goals. At goal, Noah Smith paces the team with 73 saves in 10 games played.
 
Biola (1-7)
Biola enters the week with a 1-7 overall record. The Eagles play No. 18 California Baptist and McKendree before taking on the Midshipmen. The game marks the first meeting between Navy and Biola. The Eagles are led by Kenny Wulf and Nolan Rapp, who each have eight goals apiece on the year. Wulf leads the team with six assist to give him a team-high 14 points. Defensively, Mitchell Carpenter has played and started seven games at goal with 69 saves and 100 goals allowed.
 
#14 Santa Clara (6-4)
Santa Clara, who ranks No. 14 in the latest CWPA top 20, enter the weekend with a 6-4 overall record. The Broncos will take on Wagner and tournament co-host Pomona-Pitzer before squaring off against the Mids. Navy holds a slight 7-6 advantage in the overall series, winning the most recent meeting in 2019 (W, 15-13) to snap a six-game skid against Santa Clara. Ford Eldridge leads the team with 13 goals, while Jake Taylor paces the Broncos with 13 assists. At goal, Sean Tehaney and Chase Zamborelli have started five and four games, respectively. Tehaney has 50 saves with 60 goals against, while Zamborelli has made 43 blocks with 53 goals allowed.
 
#3 UCLA (11-1)
The defending national champion Bruins enter the weekend 11-1 overall on the season. UCLA will take on No. 9 San Jose State prior to hosting Navy at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins own the overall record between the two schools, 17-0. UCLA is led by Chase Dodd, who paces the offensive attack with 13 goals. He is joined by four others with 10 or more goals. Garrett Griggs leads the team with 35 saves and 27 goals allowed in three and a half games of action.
 
#9 San Jose State (7-8)
Navy’s final opponent of the weekend is No. 9 San Jose State, who enters the weekend with a 7-8 overall record. The Spartans play No. 3 UCLA before taking on Navy at Burns Aquatics Center on the campus of Loyola-Marymount. The Midshipmen and Spartans have met once before with San Jose State claiming the victory in 2016. Bende Pardi leads the way for SJSU, scoring a team-best 28 goals with a team-high 13 assists for a team-leading 41 points. Defensively, Yahav Fire has played and started 13 games at goal tallying 141 saves with 129 goals allowed.
 

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