SAN JOSE, Calif. – Hat tricks from senior Bret Bonanni, sophomore Cody Smith and freshman Kyle Weikert propelled the No. 5 Stanford men’s water polo team to a 17-4 victory over San Jose State Sunday afternoon in San Jose, Calif.
With his three goals on Sunday, Bonanni now has 331 for his career and is just one shy of tying Tony Azevedo’s (2001-04) Stanford and MPSF scoring record of 332 goals.
The Cardinal (16-6, 2-3 MPSF) used a pair of goals in the first five minutes from Bonanni to jump out to a 2-0 early lead and never looked back, en route to its second victory in as many days.
Down 5-1, San Jose State (3-19, 0-6 MPSF) tried to cut into Stanford’s lead and got as close as 5-3 with 2:13 left in the first half, but the Cardinal got three-straight goals from Adam Abdulhamid, Bonanni and Smith to end the period and take an 8-3 lead into the break.
Stanford scored 12 of the final 13 goals in the contest, including nine of the 10 scores in the second half to earn the 17-4 victory over the Spartans.
Junior goalie Drew Holland made five saves in the cage, before handing it over to Oliver Lewis in the fourth quarter.
It’s the Cardinal’s second victory this season over San Jose State. Stanford earned a 20-5 win over the Spartans on Sept. 27 in the Aggie Roundup in Davis, Calif.
Stanford returns to action next Saturday as the Cardinal travels to Long Beach, Calif. to take on Long Beach State at noon.
