Stanford completed the season as one of the best teams in the nation once again, while playing in the most difficult conference in the country, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Cardinal finished the year with a 13-8 record, placing fourth in the MPSF Championships.
THE FINAL POLLS: For the second consecutive year, Stanford finished fifth in the final Collegiate Water Polo Association national poll. The Cardinal was in the top six of the national poll every week during the 2016 season.
VARGAS REACHES MILESTONE VICTORY TOTAL: Stanford head coach John Vargas has amassed an impressive 303-97 career record over 15 seasons at the helm of the Cardinal. He captured his 300th career coaching triumph on Oct. 8, 2016, as the Cardinal defeated No. 6 Long Beach State, 10-9, at Avery Aquatic Center. Vargas has totaled nine 20-win seasons during his tenure as The Dunlevie Family Director of Men's Water Polo.
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS: After opening with a 17-1 victory over Penn State Behrend, Stanford dropped decisions to No. 1 USC (9-5) and No. 3 California (15-9) to place fourth in the conference tournament.
SUSTAINED ACADEMIC SUCCESS: Men's water polo was one of 17 Cardinal programs who posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.
WARMOTH EARNS NCAA POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP: Senior Adam Warmoth was one of three Stanford student-athletes awarded NCAA postgraduate scholarships after the fall season. Warmoth earned his master's in mechanical engineering to go with his undergraduate degree in engineering physics. He was a four-year honoree on the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches All-Academic Team.
PARRISH AND SMITH NAMED TO ACWPC ALL-AMERICA TEAM: Sophomore Blake Parrish and junior Cody Smith were named Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-Americans. Parrish earned second-team honors and Smith was an honorable mention selection by the ACWPC.
Parrish led Stanford in scoring with 48 goals on the year. He finished second in the MPSF in scoring with an average of 2.29 goals per game. The sophomore scored at least one goal in 18 of Stanford's 21 games with multiple scores in 14 contests. He registered a career-high seven goals in the win over Santa Clara during the year.
Smith finished second on the Cardinal roster with 37 goals on the year. The total was sixth-best in the MPSF with an average of 1.76 goals per game. Smith recorded a career-best five goals on three different occasions this season against California, Pepperdine and Chapman. He found the back of the cage in all but two matches on the season, posting multiple scores in nine contests.
Parrish and Smith bring the total All-America selections to 69 under 15-year Vargas.
CARDINAL QUARTET HONORED BY MPSF: Highlighted by first-team selection Blake Parrish, four members of the Cardinal earned All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors. Parrish represented Stanford on the nine-member first team, while Cody Smith was a second-team selection and Oliver Lewis and Bennett Williams were honorable mention picks.
ACWPC HONORS 17 FOR ACADEMICS: For the second consecutive year, seventeen Stanford men's water polo student-athletes were named to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-Academic Team. Stanford's team grade-point average of 3.49 was the fourth-highest in the nation, and the highest in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Student-athletes eligible for the ACWPC All-Academic award must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher. Athlete merit levels include "excellent" (3.2 to 3.4), "superior" 3.41 to 3.7 and "outstanding" 3.71 to 4.0.
Two members of the Cardinal were named to the "Outstanding" list, including Blake Parrish (undeclared) and Adam Warmoth. It was the second straight year, both made the "Outstanding" group.
The "Superior" list included Bennett Williams (undeclared), Nelson Perla-Ward (undeclared), Duncan Mactavish (undeclared), Spencer Rogers (public policy), Justin Roberto (public policy), Marco Stanchi (undeclared) and Mitchell Mendoza (computer science).
Eight members of the Cardinal were recognized on the "Excellent" list, including Sam Pfeil (management, science and engineering), Oliver Lewis (earth systems), Kyle Weikert (management, science and engineering), Cody Smith (decision making & rationality), Dylan Woodhead (undeclared), Harrison Enright (management, science and engineering), Andrew Chun (undeclared) and Grady Williams (computer science).
MPSF HONORS 13 AS SCHOLAR-ATHLETES: The MPSF honored 13 members of the Stanford men's water polo team as Scholar-Athletes. Harrison Enright, Oliver Lewis, Mitchell Mendoza, Blake Parrish, Nelson Perla-Ward, Sam Pfeil, Justin Roberto, Spencer Rogers, Cody Smith, Marco Stanchi, Kyle Weikert, Grady Williams and Adam Warmoth were each recognized for their combined work athletically and in the classroom.
PARRISH GUIDED CARDINAL OFFENSIVELY: Sophomore Blake Parrish led the Cardinal and ranked second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in scoring with 48 goals, averaging 2.29 goals per contest. The sophomore scored at least one goal in 18 of Stanford's 21 games with multiple scores in 14 contests. He registered a career-high seven goals in the win over Santa Clara.
SMITH SCORING: Junior Cody Smith leads all active members of the Cardinal with 109 goals in his first three seasons on The Farm, after finishing second on the roster this season with 37 scores. His scoring total was sixth-best in the MPSF with an average of 1.76 goals per game. Smith scored in all but two matches on the season, posting multiple scores in nine contests. He posted 45 goals as a freshman and 27 scores as a sophomore.
LEWIS TAKES OVER IN THE CAGE: Junior Oliver Lewis took over for Drew Holland (redshirted the season) in goal for the Cardinal. Lewis averaged 10.1 saves per game, totaling 160 on the year. He posted a career-high 16 saves against USC during the regular season.
FRESHMAN SCORING: Four newcomers (freshmen and redshirt freshmen) saw their first action with the Cardinal in 2016. Bennett Williams led the way for the group with 21 goals to rank fourth on the team in scoring. Dylan Woodhead finished his first season on The Farm with five goals, while redshirt freshman Nelson Perla-Ward totaled four goals in his first action with the Cardinal. Andrew Chun saw action in the cage in six matches, recording 39 saves for a 7.6 saves per game average.
AZEVEDO HONORED: Men's water polo icon Tony Azevedo '94 was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in September. He was honored at the Cardinal's game against USC on Sept. 17. Azevedo, who announced his retirement from the game, played his final match with USA Water polo in June at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center.
