USA Water Polo announced this week that three players will represent Stanford at the FINA World League Super Final this June. Alumnus Janson Wigo ‘10 will be joined by two current Cardinal standouts, sophomore Alex Bowen and freshman Bret Bonanni. Brown and Bonanni are two of only three players chosen from the collegiate level to make the cut.
Just a few months removed from a season-ending loss in the MPSF Tournament, men’s water polo standouts Alex Bowen and Bret Bonanni earned spots on the U.S. Senior National Team roster.
Stanford faces No. 7 Pacific on Senior Day Friday night with a lot at stake. A victory would secure the fourth seed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, but a loss would open up the door for the Tigers to jump them in the standings, and an even worse draw for the Cardinal in the conference playoffs.
No. 3 Stanford took a third conference loss this Friday, putting a damper on their late-season momentum and stifling their hopes for an NCAA Tournament birth. The Cardinal’s prolific scoring duo, freshman driver Bret Bonanni and sophomore utility Alex Bowen, were held to a goal a piece as Stanford fell 9-5 at UCLA in their second-to-last regular-season game.
No. 3 Stanford versus No. 2 UCLA under the lights on a Friday night. The stage is set brilliantly for one of the most important regular season Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match-ups of the season.
The offensive fireworks continued this weekend for No. 3 Stanford (14-4, 4-2 MPSF) as it scored 18 goals on Saturday against UC-Davis before recording a season high of 24 goals on Sunday, trouncing Santa Clara 24-7.
The floodgates opened during the second quarter of this year’s annual Big Splash against California, and by the end of the game Stanford was drowning in goals. A 4-0 second quarter that turned into an 8-2 run for California led to a lopsided 14-8 drubbing on Saturday morning at Berkeley’s Spieker Aquatics Complex.
Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, USC (15-0, 2-0 MPSF) ambushed the back of the Cardinal net and put the game out of reach with four third-quarter goals and a stalwart defensive display. The first of those goals came less than 30 seconds into the second half, and the Trojans followed it up with another before 60 seconds had ticked off the game clock.