The Santa Monica College Men's water polo team is looking forward to an exciting 2012 season. Building on a strong finish to the 2011 season, great results are expected from a strong mix of returners and newcomers. Returning leading scorer and Offensive Player of the year Austin Shaheri leads a group of returners that includes starters Steven Jalomo, and Brett Holzhauer and key role players Niko Cueva and Michael Marshall who built a strong core and helped get the program moving in the right direction. James Meyerhoff returns after being a key member of the 2009 team to provide veteran leadership. A strong group of newcomers including Jack Ryner, Evan Peterson, Cristobal Galvan, Ho Tran Quoc Anh, Ryan Kigawa, Charlie Lopez-Silva, Nail Minnulin, Kevin Paisamyan, and goalie Max Menyuk provides depth that has not been seen at SMC in a long time. This year's team will be built on the principles of hard work, being competitive and never giving up. The team will be looking to improve throughout the season leading up to the Western States Conference Championships with the goal of playing on the second day and competing for a spot in the Southern California Championships. Key games include September 26th at Citrus, October 24th at L.A. Valley, and a stretch of home games October 10th vs. Ventura, October 18th vs. Cuesta, and the SMC Mini Tournament on October 19th.