Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Water Polo to Compete with Nation's Best at SoCal Tournament
10/10/2008 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 10, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. – After its first idle weekend of the fall, the Bucknell men's water polo team will compete at the SoCal Tournament this weekend. The competitive 16-team field features the top 11 teams in the latest national rankings, while 14 of the top 16 squads will participate. The Bison are one of just three East Coast teams, along with No. 14 St. Francis (N.Y.) and No. 15 Princeton, to make the trek to California.
Loyola Marymount (Burns Aquatic Center) and Pepperdine (Raleigh Runnels Aquatic Center) will serve as hosts of the two-day, 32-game tournament. Bucknell will open up its weekend with an 11 a.m. (Eastern) game against No. 2 UCLA on Saturday morning at Loyola Marymount. The Bison will then play either No. 9 UC San Diego or No. 10 Long Beach State at either 4:20 p.m. or 5:40 p.m. depending on the result of their first contest.
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Notebook (8-7, 1-2 CWPA)
Bucknell Notes
• Bucknell has faced seven ranked teams this season, going 2-5 in those contests. The Bison will add at least three games opposite ranked foes this weekend. Last year Bucknell battled ranked opponents 17 times and posted a 7-10 record.
• Bucknell will be facing No. 2 UCLA in its first game this weekend. It will mark the third time this season the Bison will play a top-three team in the national rankings. Bucknell lost to then-No. 1 Cal 18-6 in at the Navy Open in September and to No. 3 Stanford 18-5 the following week at the Princeton Invitational. All of 2007 featured just two games against top-10 opponents, while the Bison are guaranteed of no fewer than four games with top-10 foes in 2008.
• Bucknell posted a 1-3 record at the SoCal Tournament in 2007. The Bison lost to No. 5 Pepperdine (10-8), No. 14 Pacific (11-9) and No. 1 (D-III) Redlands (10-8). They defeated No. 3 (D-III) Pomona Pitzer 11-6.
• Bucknell enters the SoCal Tournament on a two-game losing streak, equaling its longest of the season. The Bison have not lost more than two games in a row since last year's SoCal Tournament.
• Sophomore Richie Hyden continues to lead the Bison offense with 41 goals, 25 assists and 66 points. He is tied for seventh nationally in goals and could possibly break into the top 10 in program history with a big second half of the season. Sean Tierney holds down 10th place on the program's single-season goals list with 95. Tierney is the only Bison to join that list since 1985.
• Senior co-captain Gabriel Heiber will likely become the second current Bison to cross the 100-point plateau for his career this weekend, joining Hyden. Heiber has 97 career points and has registered 30 points in 15 games this season. He 22 goals are two shy of equaling his career high.
• Heiber, who holds the program record for career ejections drawn (157) leads the team with 38 this year. He is 10 shy of his career high and has already matched his team-leading total from 2007.
• After registering just 27 points his first two seasons, Johnny Stupp has really blossomed as a junior. The St. Louis, Mo., native is second on the team in assists (24) and points (40), while his 16 goals rank fourth. All three figures are career highs for the only Bison to start all 15 games this year.
Bucknell vs. Pool B Opponents
• Bucknell is in a four-team pool with No. 2 UCLA, No. 9 UC San Diego and No. 10 Long Beach State. There are four four-team pools comprising the 16-team SoCal Tournament. The Bison will play two of the above teams before crossover play begins on Sunday.
• Bucknell vs. UCLA: 0-5 (Last Meeting: Sept 17, 2005 – UCLA 12, Bucknell 2)
• Bucknell vs. UC San Diego: 0-3 (Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 1988 – UC San Diego 10, Bucknell 9)
• Bucknell vs. Long Beach State: 0-4 (Last Meeting: Sept. 4, 2005 – Long Beach State 11, Bucknell 6)
Up Next
• Bucknell will be home for the first and only time this season next weekend, Oct. 17-19. The Bison will play a total of five games over three days at Kinney Natatorium. Four of the contests will be league games. The Sunday, Oct. 19, matchups with Johns Hopkins (11 a.m.) and Navy (4:30 p.m.) will have live video broadcasts on Bison Vision.
SoCal Tournament Schedule
Saturday October 11, 2008: (Raleigh Runnels Aquatic Center, Pepperdine) A & D Brackets
GAME 1 - 8 a.m. USC vs. Pomona-Pitzer
GAME 3 - 9:20 a.m. UCI vs. UCSB
GAME 5 - 10:40 a.m. Pepperdine vs. Redlands
GAME 7 - 12 p.m. Cal vs. St. Francis
GAME 9 - 1:20 p.m. Loser Match 1 vs. Loser Match 3
GAME 11 - 2:40 p.m. Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 3
GAME 13 - 4 p.m. Loser Match 5 vs. Loser Match 7
GAME 15 - 5:20 p.m. Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 7
Saturday October 11, 2008: (Burns Aquatic Center, Loyola Marymount) B & C Brackets
GAME 2 - 8 a.m. UCLA vs. Bucknell
GAME 4 - 9:20 a.m. Long Beach State vs. UCSD
GAME 6 - 10:40 a.m. Stanford vs. Princeton
GAME 8 - 12 p.m. LMU vs. Pacifi c
GAME 10 - 1:20 p.m. Loser Match 2 vs. Loser Match 4
GAME 12 - 2:40 p.m. Winner Match 2 vs. Winner Match 4
GAME 14 - 4 p.m. Loser Match 6 vs. Loser Match 8
GAME 16 - 5:20 p.m. Winner Match 6 vs. Winner Match 8
Sunday October 12, 2008 (Raleigh Runnels Aquatic Center, Pepperdine)
GAME 17 - 8 a.m. Loser Match 12 vs. Loser Match 16
GAME 19 - 9:20 a.m. Loser Match 11 vs. Loser Match 15
GAME 21 - 10:40 a.m. Winner Match 12 vs. Winner Match 16
GAME 23 - 12 p.m. Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 15
GAME 25 - 1:20 p.m. Loser Match 17 vs. Loser Match 19 (Seventh Place)
GAME 27 - 2:40 p.m. Winner Match 17 vs. Winner Match 19 (Fifth Place)
GAME 29 - 4 p.m. Loser Match 21 vs. Loser Match 23 (Third Place)
GAME 31 - 5:20 p.m. Winner Match 21 vs. Winner Match 23 (First Place)
Sunday October 12, 2008: (Burns Aquatic Center, Loyola Marymount)
GAME 18 - 8 a.m. Loser Match 10 vs. Loser Match 14
GAME 20 - 9:20 a.m. Loser Match 9 vs. Loser Match 13
GAME 22 - 10:40 a.m. Winner Match 10 vs. Winner Match 14
GAME 24 - 12 p.m. Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 13
GAME 26 - 1:20 p.m. Loser Match 18 vs. Loser Match 20 (15th Place)
GAME 28 - 2:40 p.m. Winner Match 18 vs. Winner Match 20 (13th Place)
GAME 30 - 4 p.m. Loser Match 22 vs. Loser Match 24 (11th Place)
GAME 32 - 5:20 p.m. Winner Match 22 vs. Winner Match 24 (Ninth Place)
