December 03, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Making a splash

by Rick Eymer

Grant Zider and Thomas Foley decided -- independently of each other -- to pursue their water polo careers at UCLA after graduating from Menlo School. It turned out to be an easy decision for both of them. It also meant they would be reunited with John Blanchette, a former Menlo standout himself.

With the proliferation of quality high school boys' water polo programs in the area, it's no wonder some of the top collegiate programs in the country are making Palo Alto and Menlo Park an integral part of the recruiting process.

This weekend's NCAA men's water polo Final Four at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center showcases several of the former top athletes in the Central Coast Section, and more specifically, Menlo School, Palo Alto High, and Menlo-Atherton High. All three schools will be presented this weekend.

Blanchette, a junior at UCLA (23-3) who is out for the season with a concussion suffered during a practice, calls it "The Menlo connection."

UCLA's opponent in Saturday's 5 p.m. semifinal is Princeton (25-4), who has Menlo School grad Dean Riskas, an academic All-American, and Menlo-Atherton grad Mark Wertz on its roster.

Palo Alto grad Ryan Fortune plays for Stanford (22-4), which meets Loyola Marymount (20-10) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The semifinal winners meet for the championship on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Blanchette, Zider and Foley helped UCLA to the regular season Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title and a No. 1 ranking this season. The Bruins lost to Stanford, 7-6, in the MPSF tournament championship but still earned the at-large berth for the NCAA tournament.

The Bruins and Stanford are likely to meet for the fifth time on Sunday, with the national title at stake. The teams have split their four previous meetings. The Bruins, however, have yet to beat Stanford in its own pool in four years.

"We want to shut Stanford out in their own pool," said Zider, a sophomore who has scored 15 goals in 24 games with UCLA.

Zider is familiar with Stanford's pool, having played with Foley and Blanchette on the Stanford club team. Both said they had a lot of family and friends in attendance during the MPSF championships, and can't think of another place to end their season.

"We lost to Stanford and Cal on the same day (Sept. 19 at the SoCal tournament) but we have been rolling every since," said Foley, who has five goals and four assists on the season. "We've had a bunch of first this year."

UCLA won 18 straight matches before losing to the Cardinal last weekend. It was the Bruins longest since the 1989-90 teams won 19 straight. During the streak, UCLA outscored its opponents 171-93.

UCLA is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA postseason and sixth since 1995, when the NCAA cut its playoff pool to four.

The Bruins were last in the Final Four in 2001, when they finished second to national champion Stanford. UCLA last won a national championship in 2000.

Stanford won in 2002, and finished second to USC last year.

"I used to root for Stanford," Blanchette said. "I was from here after all. I used to be a huge Stanford basketball fan."

Blanchette scored three goals and had five assists in 12 matches before his season ended.

He also served as Zider and Foley's guide when they made their official visit to UCLA.

"He gave us his opinion and he seemed to be having a good time," Foley said. "Grant and I talked about it, but we choose UCLA separately."

Their coach at Menlo, Jack Bowen, is a former Stanford All-American goalie who will have more than a passing interest in the weekend's festivities.

"I'm rooting for Stanford, Thomas, Grant, John and Deano," Bowen said. Foley, Zider and Riskas were all seniors on Bowen's 2001 CCS championship team and were juniors with then-senior Blanchette on Menlo's first CCS-winning squad in 2000. While USC was the defending national champion, Stanford knew the Bruins, who have their own Olympian in Brett Ormsby, were going to be good this year.

"Basically they didn't graduate any one," Stanford goalie Chad Taylor said. "Both teams are coming in here hoping to win the title and both teams have been working at it all year. We've been here before. We hope that experience shows."

Stanford is seeking its 11th NCAA title. The Cardinal are in their 27th tournament in its 35-year history, and have played for the national title 17 previous times.

Senior Tony Azevedo, a two-time United States Olympian, led Stanford in scoring with 76 goals. He's led the team in scoring all four years, and is Stanford's all-time leading scorer with 328.

Azevedo was named the 2004 MPSF Player of the Year, and Stanford's John Vargas was named Coach of the Year.

Azevedo was joined on the first team all-MPSF by Taylor and Peter Varellas. Thomas Hopkins was a second-team pick and Greg Crum made the third team.

Hopkins has scored 56 goals while Varellas has added 51. Taylor has 173 saves, and has allowed 4.64 goals per game, tops in the MPSF.

"Hopefully we can send the seniors out with an NCAA title," Hopkins said. "We feel like it's coming together right now."

Taylor knows it will be difficult against the Bruins, who hold a 30-28 edge in goals scored against Stanford.

"They have a lot of small drivers who keep moving all the time," Taylor said.

Loyola Marymount won the Western Water Polo Association tournament to earn a berth into the Final Four. The Lions are making their third trip in the last four seasons. Endre Rex-Kiss has 76 goals, and Ian Elliott has 242 saves in goal for Loyola Marymount.

Princeton qualified for the tournament by winning the Collegiate Water Polo Association championship, 3-2, in four overtimes over St. Francis.

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