Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Moves Up to No. 11 in National Rankings
9/19/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 19, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Coming off a 3-0 weekend that featured victories over then-No. 15 Princeton and then-No. 20 Johns Hopkins, the Bucknell men's water polo team moved up to No. 11 in the latest national rankings, announced Wednesday. The ranking is the highest the Bison have ever been in an in-season poll.
Bucknell (8-1, 3-0 CWPA) has climbed to 11th from its preseason ranking of 18th thanks to an eight-game winning streak that has featured wins over three ranked foes, including a victory over MPSF opponent Pacific, which was the first win in program history over a team from water polo's best conference. The eight-game winning streak is the longest for the Bison since they won nine in a row in 1985, the last time the team advanced to the NCAA Championship.
Bucknell's lone loss this season was to No. 2 Cal, the defending national champion, in the season opener. Since that time, the Bison have outscored their opponents 98-48.
In addition to its national ranking, Bucknell moved into a tie for first in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Top-10 Poll with St. Francis (N.Y.) and Navy. The Midshipmen, a team the Bison leapfrogged in the national rankings, is No. 13 this week, while the Terriers are No. 14.
By moving ahead of Navy, which lost to Pacific last week, Bucknell became the highest ranked team from outside of California in the national poll.
Jason Rechel (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) has been the Bison's most productive offensive player this season. The senior co-captain has 27 goals and 10 assists for 37 points. He leads the squad in goals and points and is tied with fellow captain Kyle Roslyn (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) for the team lead in assists. Rechel has also won 25 of 38 sprints on the season, including all seven during last Friday's 13-12 overtime victory against Princeton.
The Bison are idle this coming weekend, but return to action Sept. 29-30 when they host the ECAC Championship at Kinney Natatorium. Bucknell will face No. 20 Brown in its first game with either Navy or George Washington the opponent in its second game. The Bison were 2-0 against the Bears last year, and have won four in a row against them overall.
