Sept. 4, 2009

2009 Men's Water Polo Yearbook

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- In the past 12 years, LMU men's water polo has become the team to beat in the Western Water Polo Association, thanks mainly to six WWPA titles in the last eight years. That target will exist once again heading into the 2009 season, as the Lions have been picked to win their third title in a row in the annual WWPA Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Lions begin the 2009 season at the UC San DIego Triton Invitational on Sept. 5-6 at La Jolla High School. The Lions will open with WWPA foes Air Force (9:20 a.m.) and Pomona-Pitzer (2:40 p.m.) on Saturday and then will take on No. 1 USC in the first game on Sunday (10:40 a.m.).

The target that is on the backs of the Lions for 2009 is with good reason as they have won the last two championships in 2007 and 2008. They also return one of the best goalies in the country and its top two scorers from a team that was one of the best in school history, posting a 21-10 record overall and a perfect 11-0 mark against the WWPA. They finished with their highest ranking in school history at No. 5 nationally and debut in the 2009 preseason poll at No. 6 because of it.

"One of the hardest things to impress to our team is that we have a target on our back. We are the team in our league that everyone wants to beat," said Head Coach John Loughran. "So for us to continue to have success and meet new goals each year, we have to play our very best and commit to getting better every day, whether in practice, in the weight room or in games. The WWPA has a lot of parity and if we don't commit 100 percent each day, we will not win this league."

In each of the Lions' title campaigns, leadership has been the key. It was no coincidence the Lions' leadership a year ago was huge in its record-breaking season. Tim Hummel, Tim Heafner, Julien Lormant and Mark Milovic all were All-WWPA selections in their careers while Heafner was the two-time Male Student-Athlete of the Year at LMU. Hummel and Lormant combined to play more games than any Lion tandem in LMU history. All four graduated last year.

"We had great leadership in 2008 and they really set the tone for the future of our program," said Loughran. "Losing the seniors from last season has been an adjustment for us. That senior class had a tremendous amount of leadership and chemistry, which was a major factor in our success last season. We will need this year's team to fill the roles of the players we lost and we will definitely need this year's upperclassmen to step in and assume leadership roles."

As for leadership, Loughran has provided the foundation since he arrived 12 years ago, building both the men and women programs into national contenders. His leadership heading into his 13th season will be even more focused as the University made the commitment to split the programs, allowing Loughran to focus just on the men's team.

"As LMU moved to split the programs, it once again showed their commitment to make both teams better," said Loughran, who has won a combined 13 titles since 2001. "We will be able to address the development of our players a great deal more in the offseason and become more productive in our recruiting and development of our future."

The future of the Lions heading in 2009 has a solid starting point thanks to the return of All-American goalie Andy Stevens and the top two scorers from 2008, junior Tibor Forai and sophomore Edgaras Asajavicius.

Stevens has established himself as one of the top goalies in the nation, playing for the U.S. National Team Program at the World University games this summer. He ended the 2008 season with some of his best performances, earning first-team All-NCAA tournament after collecting 29 saves and allowing just five goals per contest at the championships.

"He has been at his best at conference championships and at NCAA Championships. If Andy can keep improving on his weaknesses and can be consistent in his work habits and performance, I believe he can make an impact on the next level and be a very good National Team player," said Loughran.

Stevens led the nation with 309 saves in 2008, allowing just 7.15 goals per game. He went on to earn WWPA Player of the Year, first-team All-WWPA, third-team All-American and LMU Male Athlete of the Year honors.

While Stevens anchors the Lions' defensively, the Lions have the one-two, lefty-righty duo of Forai and Asajavicius. Forai, the right-hander, led the Lions with 53 goals in 2009 and has 103 in his first two seasons at LMU. Also a third-team All-American, Forai has also led the Lions in assists the last two seasons with 48 while ranking in the top-five with 59 seals.

As for Asajavicius, the lefty scored 49 goals in his first season to earn WWPA All-Freshman team and WWPA Newcomer of the Year honors.

"Both Tibor and Edgaras are excellent all-around players and they will help run our offense. I look for Edgaras to be much improved from last year as most international players take a year to adjust to the NCAA game," said Loughran. "They will both draw a lot of attention from opposing defenses and will be an important part of our six-on-five attack, which was very successful last season. Both Edgaras and Tibor have an excellent ability to score and set up their teammates on the power play.

"Both players have a lot of experience, helping them understand the offense we are running and both are great shooters that have the ability to score at different positions. They have very high water polo IQ's which enables them to find the weaknesses in the opposing teams defenses."

Adding to the Lions' roster with their all-around play will be two of the more improved players on the Lions' roster, redshirt junior Andrew Aki and redshirt sophomore Max Schlegel. Aki played all 31 games last season and scored 26 goals on just 55 attempts while also leading the team in steals with 33. Schlegel came on late, scoring 14 goals in 28 games.

"Aki has really developed into one of better perimeter players and along with his leadership and athletic ability, he have a great impact for our team," said Loughran. "His offensive play is really starting to match his defensive skills, and he brings a lot of intangibles to the team. "As for Max, he is greatly improved, and is really attacking very well. He draws the defenses well and sets up his teammates. He is also becoming a very effective one-on-one player."

According to Loughran, the Lions' play at two-meters is also much improved. Senior Brian Benedetti and junior Dan Smith bring leadership to the Lions' center position while newcomer, redshirt freshman transfer Jon Colton comes from Cal and will bring great depth at two-meter.

"Brian at two-meter has the potential to be a force, as does Dan," said Loughran. "Our center players have improved greatly and have a lot of potential. Jon comes from Cal and is a great addition to our depth at center. He has great game sense and should be an impact player for us."

More leadership and experience exist defensively in front of Stevens as senior Derek Milligan along with redshirt sophomores Charlie Horton and Albert Samuels will anchor the defense. Fifth-year senior Andrew MacDonell and redshirt junior Zach Mix are back and give the Lions more experience and will be relied on for their leadership.

Also returning this season for the Lions is junior goalie Joseph Svec, redshirt freshman Robert Pusic, sophomore Michail Lapida, redshirt sophomore Peter Phelps and redshirt freshman Collin Walters.

In addition to Colton, newcomers to the Lions' roster this season are junior Eric MacDonell (transfer from Pepperdine) and freshmen Ryan Martin, John Sample, Spencer Zender and Brenden Verloop.

Air Force and USC are two of at least 15 ranked opponents the Lions will face in 2009. The 2009 WWPA Championships will be Nov. 20-22 on the campus of Chapman University.

- GO LIONS -