STANFORD, Calif. - Winners of six straight, No. 5 Stanford closes the regular season against No. 2 California in the Big Splash on Senior Day Sunday at Avery Aquatic Center. Sunday’s game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks with a pair of Stanford alums - Chris Dorst and Kevin Danna - on the call.
BIG SPLASH: Stanford has won the last two games in the Big Splash against California, earning a come-from-behind victory in each contest. The Cardinal leads the series, 9-7, since the Steve Heaston Trophy was established for the winner. In last season’s Big Splash triumph, Bret Bonanni scored five goals to lead the No. 2 Cardinal to an 11-9 win in Berkeley. Stanford and California have already met once this season, with the Golden Bears earning a 14-11 victory over the Cardinal in the third-place game of the SoCal Invitational in Malibu, Calif. on Oct. 11. Junior Reid Chase had four goals for Stanford in the contest.
SENIOR SALUTE: Sunday marks the final home games for senior Bret Bonanni and BJ Churnside. The duo has combined to score 498 goals and, more importantly, have been a part of 85 wins. They have helped guide the Cardinal to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2014 MPSF Championship.
Churnside Career Accolades:
· 2014 ACWPC Second Team All-American
· 2014 NCAA All-Tournament Second Team
· 2014 All-MPSF Second Team
· 2014 MPSF/Kap7 All-Tournament Team
· 2014 NCAA Elite 89 Award
· 2014 ACWPC All-Academic - Outstanding
· 2014 MPSF All-Academic
· 2013 ACWPC Third Team All-American
· 2013 NCAA All-Tournament Second Team
· 2013 All-MPSF Honorable Mention
· 2013 ACWPC All-Academic - Outstanding
· 2013 MPSF All-Academic
· 2012 ACWPC All-America Honorable Mention
· 2012 All-MPSF Honorable Mention
· 2012 ACWPC All-Academic - Superior
Bonanni Career Accolades:
· 2015 Peter J. Cutino Award finalist
· 2014 FINA Men's Water Polo Player of the Year finalist
· 2014 ACWPC First Team All-American
· 2014 NCAA All-Tournament First Team
· 2014 All-MPSF First Team
· 2014 MPSF/Kap7 All-Tournament Team
· 2014 Capital One Academic All-District Men's At-Large Team
· 2014 ACWPC All-Academic - Superior
· 2014 MPSF All-Academic
· 2013 ACWPC First Team All-American
· 2013 NCAA All-Tournament First Team
· 2013 ACWPC All-Academic - Superior
· 2013 All-MPSF Second Team
· 2013 MPSF/Kap7 All-Tournament Team
· 2013 MPSF All-Academic
· 2012 ACWPC Second Team All-American
· 2012 MPSF Newcomer of the Year
· 2012 All-MPSF First Team
· 2012 ACWPC All-Academic - Superior
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON: Tuesday’s win over Santa Clara gave Stanford its 20th win of the year. The Cardinal has posted three straight 20-win seasons. It’s the ninth 20-win campaign in 14 years for head coach John Vargas.
SCORING CHAMP: Senior Bret Bonanni is the new Stanford and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation career scoring leader. He scored six goals against Long Beach State on Oct. 31 to pass Tony Azevedo (332 goals from 2001-04). Bonanni is coming off a three-goal performance during limited action in Stanford’s 20-0 win over Santa Clara Tuesday night and enters Sunday’s regular-season finale against California with 348 career scores. After concluding his junior season with a conference-leading 96 goals, he has a team-leading 82 goals in 26 games this year. The senior recorded a career-best nine goals in the victory over MIT Sept. 5. Bonanni is the only Cardinal in history to post multiple 90-goal seasons. He has scored in 25 of Stanford’s 26 games with multiple goals in 21 contests this season. Bonanni has recorded 91 career multiple goal games and 66 career hat tricks.
51 STRAIGHT: Bret Bonanni scored at least one goal in 51 straight games from Oct. 13, 2013 to Sept. 20, 2015. His streak was snapped when he was held scoreless in Stanford’s 6-5 victory over No. 2 USC in the semifinals of the NorCal Invitational on Sept. 20. Bonanni has scored in each of Stanford’s 17 games since. Bonanni has netted multiple goals in 15 of the last 17 contests.
| Stanford’s Career Scoring Leaders | |
| Player | Goals |
| Bret Bonanni (2012 – present) | 348 |
| Tony Azevedo (2001-04) | 332 |
| Alex Bowen (2011-14) | 253 |
A LOOK AT THE POLLS: The Cardinal remained at No. 5 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association national poll for the third straight week in the latest national poll released on Nov. 4. Its 81 points are six behind fourth-place USC and six more than sixth-place UC Santa Barbara. Stanford has been in the top five of the national poll every week this season.
THIRD QUARTER FURY: Stanford has out-scored its opponent by 64 goals (109-45) in the third quarter this season. The Cardinal posted a season-best 10 goals in the third period against Pepperdine and recorded seven scores in the third quarter last time out against Santa Clara.
MPSF LEADER: Senior Bret Bonanni (82) leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in scoring, averaging 3.2 goals per game. Redshirt junior Adam Abdulhamid (54) ranks seventh in the league, averaging 2.1 goals per game. Senior Drew Holland ranks fourth in the MPSF in goals against average at 6.91. As a team, Stanford ranks second in scoring (15.0 Goals/Game) and third in defense (allowing 6.4 Goals/Game).
CHASING THE CAGE: After totaling 31 goals in his first two seasons (15 as a freshman, 16 as a sophomore) junior Reid Chase already has 34 goals this year alone. He ranks third on the team in scoring. Chase has netted goals in four of the last five games, including a pair of scores against Pepperdine and Santa Clara.
RECORD-SETTING DAY FOR HOLLAND: Drew Holland registered an MPSF single-game record 23 saves in No. 5 Stanford’s 7-0 shutout of No. 7 UC Irvine Nov. 1. The Cardinal junior totaled 36 saves for the week, also posting 13 stops in the 12-8 victory over No. 8 Long Beach State on Oct. 31 to earn MPSF Player of the Week honors on Nov. 2. Holland’s previous high single-game save total was 20 against USC on Oct. 18, 2014. The Cardinal junior has recorded double-digit saves in 11 games this season. The shutout of UC Irvine was only the second time this season an MPSF team was held scoreless (UCLA defeated San Jose State, 10-0, on Oct. 18). Prior to Nov. 1, UC Irvine had not been held scoreless in a game since at least 2002.
SMITH SCORING: Sophomore Cody Smith has posted 11 goals in Stanford’s last six games. He has recorded three scores in a game three times season, against Harvard (9/5), San Jose State (10/25) and Pepperdine (11/6).
ABDULHAMID 2014 TO 2015: Redshirt junior Adam Abdulhamid is second on the team with 54 goals for the season. The 54 goals in 26 games is 23 more than his 31 goals in 30 games during the 2014 season. Abdulhamid has scored in seven of Stanford’s last eight games, totaling 14 goals over those eight contests. He has scored a career-high five goals twice this season, in the season opener against MIT and Sept. 27 against Santa Clara. Of the 21 games Abdulhamid has scored in this season, the redshirt junior has registered multiple scores in 14 of those contests.
FRESHMAN SCORING: Seven student-athletes have seen their first action for the Cardinal this season, totaling 77 goals on the year. Redshirt freshman Mitchell Mendoza leads the group with 25 goals, while true freshman Blake Parrish has recorded 18 scores.