Nov. 3, 2010

Weekly Release in PDF Format

After wrapping up play at home for the 2010 season with a 9-2 win, the ninth-ranked LMU men's water polo program will head north on a grueling three-game trip that will see them take on three ranked opponents in consecutive games, starting with No. 1 Cal on Thursday at 7 p.m., then a showdown with No. 13 UC Davis on Friday at 7 p.m., with top-seeding implications in the upcoming Western Water Polo Association tournament. The trip ends with No. 11 Santa Clara on Saturday at 1 p.m.

INSIDE THE LIONS
The ninth-ranked Lions have won five straight, all against WWPA foes, as they head into the three-game trip up north. The Lions have improved to 13-7 overall, and 11-1 against the WWPA. The Lions will finish the season playing nine of their final 11 games against the WWPA and will face UC Davis on Friday in a game that is shaping up to give the winner the top seed in the WWPA Championships at Santa Clara on Nov. 19-21. UC Davis is 12-0 on the season against the WWPA while the Lions are 11-1. The battle with the Aggies is bookended with No. 1 Cal on Thursday and No. 11 Santa Clara. The Lions season is once again grounded by their defense. They have allowed just six goals in their last two wins, thanks in part to senior goalie Andy Stevens, who has 197 saves in 18.5 games worth of action (10.6 per game). After being one of the nation's leaders all 2009 in defense, allowing just 6.13 per game, the Lions enter the game against Claremont allowing 6.27 goals per game. Senior Ikaika Aki provides big help in front of the net for Stevens, adding 24 field blocks, 46 steals and spear-heading the offense with a team-best 28 assists. He adds 15 goals in the process and has also earn a WWPA Player of the Week honor, earning it on Sept. 8. Junior Edgaras Asajavicius leads the team lead in goals with 43, followed by senior Tibor Forai's 33. Forai now ranks 5th all-time with 176 career goals and eighth with 75 assists, while Asajavicius moved to 11th with 138. Aki is now 20th all-time in scoring with 95 goals, third with 92 assists and became the all-time career leader in steals with 160. In addition, both Andy Stevens and Ikaika Aki cracked the century mark in games played in their careers, with Aki ranking tied for 13th with 109 and Stevens in 15th with 107.

HOME FINALE
Nine LMU seniors made their final appearance at Burns Aquatics Center on Saturday, including seven who played four years at LMU. That list of seven include Ikaika Aki, Tibor Forai, Derek Milligan, Zach Mix, Albert Samuels, Daniel Smith and Andy Stevens. Of that group, six have won a title in their first three years, with championships coming in 2007, 2008 and 2009 (Mix did not play on 2008 team). Joining them for this season as senior transfers are Brian Flacks and Eric MacDonell. All told, the group played in 631 games as Lions.

THE WWPA
The Lions have opened the season at 6-0 against teams from the WWPA, defeating Pomona-Pitzer and Santa Clara last weekend, running their unbeaten streak to 37 games against the conference. They went 14-0 in 2009, 11-0 in 2008 and won their last six in 2007 to win back-to-back-to-back titles. The last setback was to Santa Clara on Oct. 26, 2007, 8-7 in overtime. The streak ended at 37 with a 7-6 setback to UC San Diego in the final game of the SoCal Invitational on Oct. 3, 2010. They have since rattled off four straight, giving them 42 wins in the last 43 WWPA games. The Lions have won seven WWPA titles in nine seasons.

THE COACH
Head Coach John Loughran was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow on Christmas Day 2009. Like so many of his teams, a complete team effort has Loughran in remission and back on the pool deck for his 14th season. "Going through this, the support of family, friends and Loyola Marymount has been tremendous," said Loughran. "An important aspect of handling this so quickly was the donation of blood and platelets during the critical moments of my illness by numerous individuals, many of whom I know and many that I don't know. One of the new special service projects that this program will undertake is getting the word out about the importance of donating blood and platelets." Loughran has led the men to 11 winning seasons and has guided the program to seven conference titles and seven NCAA appearances in the last nine seasons, including the 2009 WWPA title win over UC San Diego. Adding to his impressive resume, Loughran, who was also the women's head coach when he took the helm of both programs in 1997-98 year, led the Lions to a combined 14 WWPA titles (7 for women, 7 for men) and 14 trips to the NCAA Championship. He has won eight WWPA Coach of the Year honors, four in women's water polo (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) and four in men's water polo (2001, 2003, 2005, 2008). Additionally, he has coached 12 different players to 22 All-America honors while having four players earn five WWPA Player of the Year honors.