Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell to Host Men's Water Polo Southern Championships this Weekend
10/27/2006 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 27, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - For the third time in four years Kinney Natatorium and Bucknell will serve as the host for a championship weekend as the Southern Championships will take place inside the four-year old facility. Nine teams will be battling for four coveted spots in the Eastern Championship, which will be contested in two weeks in Princeton, N.J. A total of 15 games, including 10 on Saturday, dot the busy schedule.
Bucknell, which is ranked 18th in the nation and is one of three nationally ranked teams in the field, will be attempting to advance to the Eastern Championship for a record-tying seventh consecutive season. At last year's Southern Championships the Bison equaled their best finish since 1998 with a third-place showing.
Bucknell enters the weekend with a 12-10 record and is seeded fifth in the nine-team field. Teams from both the Southern Division East Region and Southern Division West Region take part in the Southern Championships. Seeding is alternated between regions. Since Navy won last year's Southern Championships, the stronger East Region earned the right at the top seed as well as all the odd seeds. The weaker West Region teams claimed all the even seeds.
No. 12 Navy owns the top seed, while No. 15 Princeton is the third seed. Gannon, which finished 5-1 in division play, was the top overall seed from the West Region and is the second seed overall. Mercyhurst and Bucknell round out the list of top-five seeds. The Bison will take on the Lakers in their first game of the weekend at 12:45 p.m. Saturday.
If Bucknell upends Mercyhurst, which is 10-6 overall, it will play at 7:30 p.m. If the Bison are upset, they will play at 6 p.m. A win against the Lakers clinches a berth in the Eastern Championship for Bucknell.
The Bison enter the Southern Championships on a three-game losing streak, but two of those losses were to Navy and Princeton, teams that have combined for a 32-11 record and have been nationally ranked all season. Bucknell has played a difficult schedule all year, facing 12 ranked foes.
Senior Mark Masterson (Kihei, Hawaii/Marin) and juniors Jason Rechel (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and Kyle Roslyn (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) have been a strong offensive trio for the Bison all year long. Masterson leads the team with 48 goals and 25 assists for a career-high 73 points. In 10 less games he has already equaled his goal output from all of last season. Masterson also leads the team in steals with 39 and is just four goals shy of 100 in his career. Earlier this year the utility player tallied six scores in a game, making him the first Bison to accomplish that since 2001.
Rechel had a breakout sophomore campaign and has only improved upon that as a junior. He ranks second on the squad with 37 goals, one shy of his career high. He has also dished out a career-high 26 assists to top the team. A strong defensive player as well, Rechel is second on the team to Masterson with 32 steals. Additionally, Rechel is the team's fastest swimmer and has won 39 of 80 sprints this fall.
Despite battling a nagging injury at times, Roslyn has put together a solid junior campaign as well. He is third on the team in goals (31), assists (18) and points (49). He has already equaled his career high in goals and is just one shy in assists and points. Like Masterson and Rechel, Roslyn is strong on defense as well, garnering a career-high 31 steals this year.
Luke Belenky (Kensington, Md./German School) has started every game in goal for Bucknell this year and has made 135 saves, including 11 in a game on three occasions.
In addition to its pair of games Saturday, Bucknell will play one on Sunday. The championship game is slated for 12:45 p.m. Sunday.
SOUTHERN CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION
Southern Championships Seeding
1: No. 12 Navy (18-5, 8-0 CWPA-East)
2: Gannon (5-10, 5-1 CWPA-West)
3: No. 15 Princeton (14-6, 6-2 CWPA-East)
4: Mercyhurst (10-6, 5-1 CWPA-West)
5: No. 18 Bucknell (12-10, 3-5 CWPA-East)
6: Washington & Jefferson (4-13, 2-4 CWPA-West)
7: Johns Hopkins (13-12, 2-6 CWPA-East)
8: Penn State Behrend (2-14, 0-6 CWPA-West)
9: George Washington (11-11, 1-7 CWPA-East)
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006
Game 1: Penn State Behrend vs. George Washington, 9 a.m.
Game 2: Gannon vs. Johns Hopkins, 10:15 a.m.
Game 3: No. 15 Princeton vs. Washington & Jefferson, 11:30 a.m.
Game 4: Mercyhurst vs. No. 18 Bucknell, 12:45 p.m.
Game 5: No. 12 Navy vs. Winner Game 1, 2 p.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 2, 3:15 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 1, 6 p.m.
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 5, 9 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 29, 2006
Game 11: Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, 9 a.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 6, 10:15 a.m. (Fifth Place)
Game 13: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 9, 11:30 a.m. (Third Place)
Game 14: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 7, 12:45 p.m. (First Place)
Game 15: Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 10, 2 p.m. (Seventh Place)
