Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Water Polo to Host Eastern Championship this Weekend
4/21/2004 8:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
April 21, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's water polo team will host the Eastern Championship this weekend, April 23-25, 2004, marking the first time in the history of the program that the squad is hosting the event. The Eastern Championship brings together the top-12 teams in the Collegiate Water Polo Association in a battle for an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Admission to the event is $5 a day or $12 for the entire weekend. Admission for Bucknell students and staff with an appropriate ID is $3 per day or $5 for the weekend. Children under 12 are admitted free of charge.
This season is the third-straight trip to Eastern's for the Bison, and is the fourth time in six years as a varsity sport that the team has earned a spot in the championship. The Orange and Blue enter the tournament as the eighth seed, marking the highest seed the squad has ever earned. BU will face ninth-seeded Wagner at 1:10 p.m. on Friday, April 23, in the first game of the weekend.
Fans unable to attend BU's first game of the tournament can still catch all of the action on the Bison athletic website at www.BucknellBison.com. Doug Birdsong, the Voice of the Bison, will be carrying an internet-only broadcast of the game against Wagner, beginning with the pregame show at 1:00 p.m.
Bucknell has been led all season by the play of junior Meg Blitzer (Durham, N.H./Phillips Academy), who is nearing a Bucknell record for goals in a season. The co-captain has scored a career-best 59 goals, more than double that of the next closest teammate. With just three goals, Blitzer will establish a new single-season standard, currently held by 1999 graduate Dana Cull and senior Kelly Hofstetter (Scotts Valley, Calif./Harbor) with 61. Cull set her mark in 1999 and Hofstetter achieved it in 2002.
Another key factor offensively has been the play of freshman Elizabeth Jensen (San Mateo, Calif./Saint Ignatius College Preparatory). Jensen is leading the team with 31 assists, which is a Bucknell rookie record, and is second on the squad in scoring with 50 points. That total places her fourth on the Bison freshmen scoring list.
 Kinney Natatorium will serve as the site of the women's water polo Eastern Championship, the first time the event has been on the Bucknell campus.  |
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Joining Jensen on that freshmen scoring top-10 are classmates Taylor Voeltz (Irvine, Calif./University) and Jessica Trimis (La Crescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley). Voeltz is ninth on the list with 28 points on 17 goals and 11 assists. Trimis sits in a tie for 10th with her 14 goals and eight helpers for 22 points.
Blitzer and Voeltz have proven they can hurt the opponent on both sides of the ball. Blitzer leads the team with 62 steals, while Voeltz is not far behind with 57. Voeltz pulled in a career-best eight thefts against Pomona Pitzer on March 12.
Freshman Mandy Bynum (San Jose, Calif./Leland) has also been a mainstay in the Bison defense, closing in on the single-season save percentage record. On the season, Bynum has started all 30 games, registering 230 saves while only allowing 186 goals for a .553 clip. The current record of .524 is held by 2003 graduate Lindsay Chesterfield, and was set in 2002.
Bucknell will look to improve on its eighth-place finish from a year ago at the Eastern Championship. The Bison have also finished 11th in 2002 and ninth in their inaugural trip to the tournament in 2000.
