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49ers Ranked 9th In Pre-Season Poll
Regular Season Kicks Off On September 8
August 16, 2007
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The University of Southern California received all
the first place votes to garner 100 points as the Trojans are a unanimous
No. 1 in the 2007 National Varsity Men's Water Polo poll. Long Beach State,
under the direction of second year head coach Gavin Arroyo, is picked
No. 9 in the initial poll. Last year the 49ers were 11-17, but Arroyo
welcomes back 12 letterwinners and six starters from last season's squad.
USC, which finished the 2006 season at No. 2 behind national champion
the University of California-Berkeley after the Bears held off the Trojans
for a 7-6 victory in the national title game, returns to the top spot
after spending 10 weeks at No. 1 during the 2006 season.
The Bears of California are ranked second in the poll, garnering 95 points,
while the University of California-Los Angeles and Stanford University
retained their final rankings from a year ago holding onto third and fourth
place, respectively.
The biggest movers in the preseason poll are the University of California-Irvine
and Pepperdine University which moved up to rank fifth and sixth after
rating 11th and 10th, respectively, at the conclusion of the 2006 season.
The University of California-Santa Barbara , the University of California-San
Diego, Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount University round out the
top 10 teams.
The 49ers will be led by seniors Travis Buchanan, Greg Henneman, Nick
Korsgaden, Steve MacKenzie, Reid Tomassi and Clint Wilson. MacKenzie returns
in goal for the 49ers after averaging 9.48 saves per game and recording
256 saves on the season. Wilson finished third on the team in scoring
last year with 30 goals, while Korsgaden was fourth with 28. Tomassi,
a three-year starter, returns to the line-up after missing the 2006 season
due to injury. Tomassi stands No. 12 on the 49er career scoring chart
with 126 career goals.
The national polls will be released each Wednesday during the season at
approximately 5:00 p.m.
2007 Men's National Top 20 Varsity (Preseason)
1. University of Southern California, 100 points
2. University of California, Berkeley, 95 points
3. University of California, Los Angeles, 89 points
4. Stanford University, 86 points
5. University of California, Irvine, 75 points
6. Pepperdine University, 74 points
7. University of California, Santa Barbara, 71 points
8. University of California, San Diego, 67 points
9. Long Beach State, 56 points
10. Loyola Marymount University, 55 points
11. United States Naval Academy, 49 points
11. University of California, Davis, 49 points
13. University of the Pacific, 39 points
14. St. Francis College (NY), 35 points
15. Princeton University, 31 points
16. Santa Clara University 28 points
17. United States Air Force Academy, 20 points
18. Bucknell University, 14 points
19. Pomona Pitzer College, 8 points
20. University of California, Santa Cruz, 5 points
Receiving Votes: University of Redlands (4), Brown University (3), Johns
Hopkins University (3)
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