Bucknell University Athletics
No. 14 Bucknell Men's Water Polo Faces Three Ranked Teams this Weekend
10/5/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 5, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Coming off a third-place finish at the ECAC Championship last weekend, the No. 14 Bucknell men's water polo team has another busy weekend ahead as it is slated to play four games, including three against ranked foes. The Bison will travel to Princeton, N.J., on Saturday to face Queens (N.Y.) at 10 a.m. and then No. 18 Princeton at 5 p.m. Sunday will feature another doubleheader, this time at Kinney Natatorium, as Bucknell will host No. 13 Navy at 10 a.m. and then conclude the weekend with a non-league contest against St. Francis (N.Y.) at 5 p.m.
This weekend's Princeton and Navy games are key league matchups for Bucknell, which is 3-0 in CWPA Southern Division play. A pair of victories would put the Bison in prime position to claim the top seed at next month's Southern Championships in Annapolis, Md.
Prior to Sunday's second game, Bucknell's senior class will be recognized prior to its final game in Kinney Natatorium. The Bison have seven seniors on their roster: Lee Anderson, Luke Belenky, Mark Masterson, Peter O'Keefe, Jason Rechel, Kyle Roslyn and Josh Sunday.
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Notebook
Bucknell Recently
- Sept. 29: W, 10-6 vs. No. 20 Brown
- Sept. 29: L, 9-7 vs. No. 13 Navy
- Sept. 30: W, 11-8 vs. No. 18 Princeton
2007 Bucknell Men's Water Polo Statistics
Bucknell Notes
- Bucknell placed third at last weekend's ECAC Championship, held at Kinney Natatorium. The Bison defeated Princeton in the third-place game for their best finish at the event since taking second in 2004. St. Francis (N.Y.) won the title, defeating Navy in Sunday's championship game.
- Bucknell is ranked 14th nationally and is third in the CWPA Top-10 Poll. St. Francis is the top team in the CWPA poll, while Navy is No. 2. Both of those teams will visit Kinney Natatorium on Sunday.
- Bucknell is 10-2 this season, marking its best start to a campaign since opening 1984 10-2. The last time a squad was better over its first 12 games was in 1980 when the Bison were 11-1 in their first 12 games en route to a 20-1 beginning to the season.
- With 10 wins this year, Bucknell head coach John Zeigler has upped his career total to 124. He has now drawn to within 100 victories of long-time Bison mentor Dick Russell, who piled up 223 wins during his tenure.
- Seniors Mark Masterson, Jason Rechel and Kyle Roslyn are all among the program's all-time leaders in steals. Roslyn has piled up a team-high 21 steals this season and has 109 in his career to stand seventh on Bucknell's career list. Masterson and Rechel both have 18 steals this year and rank eighth and ninth, respectively, on the steals list. Masterson has 103 career steals, while Rechel has 100. Brad Roslyn, with 111 career steals, is the next person on the list for the trio to pass.
- Rechel's offensive production has slowed of late after an amazing start to the season. However, the senior co-captain still easily paces the team with 29 goals and 42 points. Masterson is second in goals with 19, while freshman Richie Hyden ranks second on the squad with 31 points.
- Masterson enters this weekend just nine points shy of reaching 200 in his Bucknell career. He has totaled 129 career goals, most among current Bison, and has 62 assists.
- Senior goalie Luke Belenky has started a team-high seven games and leads the squad with a .521 save percentage. His 49 saves pace the team as well, and he recently crossed the 250-save plateau for his career.
Bucknell vs. Princeton and Queens
- On Saturday, Bucknell will play Queens (N.Y.) and No. 18 Princeton. The Bison are 3-0 against those teams this year, defeating Queens 17-1 at the Navy Labor Day Open, and downing Princeton 13-12 in overtime and 11-8 at Kinney Natatorium.
- Bucknell is 21-31 all-time against Princeton and is in the midst of its first two-game winning streak over the Tigers since 1998. Entering this season, the Bison had gone 1-22 over their last 23 meetings with Princeton. The last time Bucknell won at least three in a row against Princeton was when it had a 13-game streak in the series. The final win in that stretch came in 1990.
- Bucknell is 13-13 all-time against Queens, but has defeated the Knights each of the last four years.
Bucknell vs. Navy and St. Francis (N.Y.)
- Bucknell is just 14-64 all-time against Navy and has lost 11 straight to the Mids dating back to an 8-6 win at the 2004 ECAC Championship. That victory marks the only win for the Bison over Navy since 2000. The Mids defeated Bucknell 9-7 at the ECAC Championship this past Saturday.
- Bucknell has lost 14 straight contests to St. Francis, with its last victory coming in 1998. Overall, the Bison are 4-15 all-time against the Terriers.
Live Internet Video vs. St. Francis (N.Y.)
- Live video of Sunday's game against St. Francis will be available for a small fee through BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com. The evening contest with the Terriers is slated to begin at 5 p.m., with coverage kicking off at 4:50 p.m.
Up Next
- Bucknell will make its annual trek to California next weekend. The Bison will play in the SoCal Tournament. In their first game, they will take on Pepperdine and then play either UCLA or Pacific Saturday evening. Two more games are slated for next Sunday. Additionally, Bucknell will play Concordia on Tuesday, Oct. 16, to conclude their trip West.
