News and Events

press releases

Pepperdine Men's Water Polo Ranked No. 2 in Nation

The Pepperdine men's water polo team finished the 2008 regular season ranked No. 2 in the nation according to Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Top 20 polls. This is the Waves' highest CWPA ranking since 2002.

The polls saw dramatic changes among the top 10 in the final weeks of the season. Pepperdine's team climbed to second after an overtime victory over Stanford University, 8-7, on Saturday, Nov. 29. The University of Southern California bested the Waves the following afternoon, Sunday, Nov. 30, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) finals with a narrow 3-2 win, putting them in first place. The University of California-Los Angeles and Loyola Marymount University climbed to fourth and fifth, respectively. There may be more changes to the rankings after the NCAA Championships, which will take place Dec. 6-7, at Stanford.

The MPSF also recognized Pepperdine's men's water polo team's stellar season, naming four Waves to All-MPSF teams for the 2008 season and head coach Jack Kocur was voted Co-Coach of the Year, along with Coach Jovan Vavic of USC.

Seaver College seniors J.P. MacDonell and Grant Miller were named to the All-MPSF First-Team. MacDonell scored five goals in the tournament, and finished the year ranked fifth for goal scoring in the MPSF with 55 goals. Miller was right behind him, finishing sixth with 46 goals. Miller finishes his career as a Wave with 176 goals, earning him the No. 11 spot on the Career Goal-Scoring Leaders list.

Adam Hewko, also a senior, was tabbed All-MPSF Second-Team. He held the No. 10 spot in MPSF with 43 goals this season. Finally, Junior Clayton Snyder was selected to the All-MPSF Third-Team.

Kocur, a former Pepperdine All-American and member of its 1997 national championship team, finished his third season as head coach this year. He took his team to a 21-7, 6-2 MPSF finish, winning 11 of his last 13 matches including upsets over UCLA and Stanford.

Click here for more information about the Pepperdine men's water polo team.