GEORGE LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Aleksandar Stankovic proves that size matters in water polo.

BYUH’s
big deal

The Seasiders' new goalie
has made a difference

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By Brandon Lee
Special to the Star-Bulletin

With a wingspan of about 7 feet and only 10 feet to cover from one goalpost to the other, Brigham Young-Hawaii men's water polo goalie Aleksandar Stankovic is the "stuff" of offensive players' nightmares.

Mix in quickness typical of someone much smaller and an ultra-intense attitude, and it's easy to understand why the 6-foot-8, 215-pound freshman nicknamed "Sasha" has already established himself as one of the most feared net-minders in the collegiate game.

"Some coaches have said he could be the best goalie in the country," said BYUH coach Aukai Ferguson. "He's certainly in the top five. There's (Punahou alumnus Brandon) Brooks at UCLA and (Nick) Ellis from Stanford -- if he's not No. 1, he's right behind those two."

"Last year, we lost all the close (games)," he added. "This year, we're winning all the close ones. Any time we've won by no more than two or three goals, he's been the difference."

Ferguson believes that the 19-year-old native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, who was a member of his country's junior national team, has a good shot of becoming the second Seasider to earn All-American recognition in water polo.

Sophomore field player Vanja Kalabic, who is also from Belgrade and recruited Stankovic, was a first-teamer in 2001, the inaugural season for the Seasider program.

After posting an 11-12 record last year, the addition this season of Stankovic's defense to complement Kalabic's prolific scoring has propelled BYUH to a 14-9 record and No. 16 in the national rankings for all NCAA teams, regardless of affiliation.

GEORGE LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Aleksandar Stankovic.

The Seasiders have one regular-season match remaining, tonight against local rival Chaminade (10-6). It's the last of a five-game season series BYUH has already clinched for a second time by winning the first three to start the year.

Last Friday, the last time either played an official game, the Seasiders dropped their first of the season to the Silverswords, 12-11 in overtime.

Stankovic rested until the start of the second half.

"It's good to see the team is doing better with my help," Stankovic said. "I hope the team continues to improve year-to-year. I will stay three more years and I hope we win the (Western Water Polo Association) in that time."

Largely aided by an average of more than 10 saves per contest and opponents scoring on just 31 percent (140 of 448) of their shots with Stankovic in goal, the Seasiders will already have their first shot at the WWPA title this year.

The 15-team association is a mix of three Division I, four Division II and eight Division III teams. Unlike major sports, water polo competition is not segregated by divisions -- lending even more weight to the Seasiders' spot in the national Top 20.

As one of eight teams that qualified for the WWPA championship tournament set for next Friday and Saturday at UC San Diego, BYUH will compete for the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that goes to the winner.

Besides the D-II Seasiders, the other seven teams that will participate are D-I Air Force and Loyola Marymount, D-II Chaminade, UC Davis and the host Tritons, and D-III La Verne and Redlands. Pairings will be announced after this weekend's games.

"It will be hard to win the WWPA this year," Stankovic said. "Maybe if we have a really good (performance). (But) our team has a lot of ups and downs. (We're) inconsistent; we can get beat by the worst team and then turn around and beat the best team."

But after playing all but six regular-season games against teams either ranked or previously ranked in the Top 20 -- with many of them against WWPA teams -- BYUH should not see much it hasn't already, nor get stage fright at the association championships.

And winning three postseason matches in two days is sometimes less about consistency than peaking at the right time and a little luck.

With Stankovic providing enough fuel on his own to set his whole team on fire, there remains at least a chance that he and the Seasiders could earn a head-to-head matchup with the likes of Brooks or Ellis at the NCAAs the first weekend of next month.

"Of course, I always believe (we can win)," Stankovic said. "You need to have faith.

"I look at water polo a little differently than other guys," he added. "Some look at it as fun. But I like water polo very much; I give 100 percent all the time and I'm very intense."