Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Appears in National Rankings for First Time
2/24/2005 7:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 24, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Thanks to an impressive 8-1 start to the season, including a perfect 5-0 mark at the Bucknell Invitational, the Bucknell women's water polo team earned its first-ever national ranking, showing up at No. 20 in this week's poll, announced by the Collegiate Water Polo Association Wednesday.
The Bison are one of just five teams from the Eastern portion of the United States listed within the Top 20. Bucknell is joined by Indiana (6th), Michigan (11th), Hartwick (17th) and Princeton (19th).
The 8-1 opening to the season is the best in the seven-year history of the Bucknell program, eclipsing a 5-1 start in 2001. The six-game win streak the Bison own is the second longest in school history. Bucknell posted nine consecutive victories in 2000. Included in the current six-game streak is a win over then-No. 14 Hartwick. It was the first-ever victory over a ranked opponent for Bucknell.
Senior co-captain Meg Blitzer, who is just seven goals and 39 points away from claiming the top spots in Bucknell history in each category, has led the offensive attack. She has a team-high 22 goals and six assists for a team-high 28 points this season. Her 22 goals rank fourth in the country. Freshman Meagan Gins joins Blitzer among the country's leading scorers. She stands seventh in the nation in goals with 18. She posted a six-goal game during a 12-8 victory over George Washington last Friday. Only six other Bucknell players have scored that many goals in one contest.
Bucknell's potent offensive attack, which is averaging 9.2 goals per game to rank sixth in the country, has seen 14 players score at least one goal, and five players have registered at least 10 points. Along with Blitzer and Gins, Katie Hartigan (15 points), Cody Keffer (13) and Elizabeth Jensen (10) have each tallied at least 10 points.
The Bison defense has contributed to the wins almost as much as the high-scoring offense. Bucknell is fifth in the country allowing opponents to score an average of just 5.2 goals per game. In nine games Bison opponents have scored just seven goals in the first quarter as Bucknell has a 25-7 advantage in the first seven minutes of games this season.
Leading the defense has been a pair of goalies. Mandy Bynum and Katie Colgan have split time in net, with Bynum garnering five starts and Colgan four. Bynum has 47 saves and a .588 save percentage. Colgan has stopped 32 shots while allowing just 14 goals for a .696 save percentage.
The Bison return to action this coming weekend when they face Maryland and Salem International in College Park, Md. The game with the Terps is Friday, Feb. 25, at 8 p.m. Bucknell faces Salem Saturday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m. Also this weekend the Bison will face a couple of club teams that do not count in their record.
