Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Women's Water Polo to Host Bucknell Invitational this Weekend
2/22/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 22, 2007
2007 Bucknell Invitational Schedule and Results
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After two very difficult weekends that featured matchups with five nationally ranked teams, the Bucknell women's water polo team makes its first home appearance of the 2007 season this weekend when it hosts the Bucknell Invitational at Kinney Natatorium. The state-of-the-art pool that was the home of the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships last weekend will house 16 games on Saturday and Sunday, including two Bison contests each day.
Bucknell and Wagner kick off the busy weekend Saturday morning at 9:15 a.m. Eight more games follow that day, including the Bison and Villanova at 2:15 p.m., with the last contest scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. Seven more games are slated for Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. Bucknell, which takes on Iona at 10:30 a.m., closes out the two-day event with a 3:30 p.m. matchup with Marist, a team that upset the Bison last weekend at the Maryland Invitational.
Bucknell, George Washington, Grove City, Iona, Marist, Maryland, Villanova and Wagner comprise the eight-team field.
The Bison enter their own invitational with a 2-6 record, although five of the six losses have come to ranked foes.
Junior Meagan Gins (Albuquerque, N.M./Valley), freshman Valentina Rozas (Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) and senior Elizabeth Jensen (San Mateo, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) have shouldered the offensive load over the first two weekends of the 2007 season for Bucknell. Gins has already produced six multiple-goal games en route to a team-high 18 scores. She posted her seventh career game with at least five goals when she netted five against No. 13 Hartwick. The junior has moved into fifth place on the Bison career goals list with 136, just 62 shy of Meg Blitzer's standard. Gins is also eighth on the career points list with 184.
Rozas is second on the team with 10 goals, including a three-goal performance in a 10-4 win over Redlands, which was ranked first nationally in Division III at the time. With at least one goal in all but one game and an additional three assists, Rozas is second to Gins with 13 points. She has also drawn 14 ejections, second to Gins' 17.
Jensen has posted seven goals and a team-high five assists. Against No. 16 Michigan on Sunday, she equaled her career high with four goals. A four-year starter, Jensen stands sixth on Bucknell's career points list with 191. She is second on the assists list as earlier this season she became just the second Bison to eclipse the century mark. She now has 103 in her career, 39 behind Adrienne Schober's program record.
For the fourth consecutive season Mandy Bynum (San Jose, Calif./Leland) is holding down the starting position in goal. She has made 70 saves, including a career-high 15 against Maryland. In her career, Bynum now has 812 saves to stand second to Lindsay Chesterfield's program record of 892. The senior co-captain has a career save percentage of 56.1 percent.
The Bucknell Invitational is one of just two weekends the Bison will play at Kinney Natatorium this spring. They will also be home on April 13 and 14 for league games against Princeton and Maryland. Bucknell will be back on the road next weekend when it travels to Cambridge, Mass., for the ECAC Championship.
2007 Bucknell Invitational Schedule and Results
Saturday, Feb. 24
Bucknell vs. Wagner, 9:15 a.m.
Iona vs. Grove City, 10:30 a.m.
Maryland vs. Marist, 11:45 a.m.
George Washington vs. Wagner, 1 p.m.
Bucknell vs. Villanova, 2:15 p.m.
Marist vs. Grove City, 3:30 p.m.
Maryland vs. Wagner, 4:45 p.m.
George Washington vs. Iona, 6 p.m.
Villanova vs. Grove City, 7:15 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 25
Maryland vs. Villanova, 8 a.m.
George Washington vs. Marist, 9:15 a.m.
Bucknell vs. Iona, 10:30 a.m.
Wagner vs. Grove City, 11:45 a.m.
George Washington vs. Villanova, 1 p.m.
Iona vs. Maryland, 2:15 p.m.
Bucknell vs. Marist, 3:30 p.m.
