Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Kinney Natatorium the Site of Saturday's Women's Water Polo Southern Championships
4/17/2008 8:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
April 17, 2008
Southern Championships Schedule & Results
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's water polo team and Kinney Natatorium will host the Southern Championships this Saturday, April 19. The one-day, four-team tournament will feature No. 20 Bucknell, Princeton, Maryland and George Washington. The Bison are the top seed after a regular season in which they won a program-record 24 games and went 5-1 in conference play.
Play begins Saturday morning at 9 a.m. with Bucknell hosting George Washington. The championship is slated for 6 p.m. on a day full of home Bison athletic events. The Bison women's rowing, women's lacrosse, men's and women's track and field, softball, baseball and men's lacrosse teams will be competing at home along with the women's water polo squad.
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Notebook (24-7, 5-1 CWPA)
Bucknell Notes
• Bucknell finished the regular season with a 24-7 record, breaking the program record for victories in a season. The 2005 and 2006 Bison squads both posted 23 wins.
• Bucknell broke into the national rankings once again on Wednesday when it showed up tied for 20th with Brown. The Bison have been ranked as high as No. 19 this year.
2008 Bucknell National Rankings:
• Week of Feb. 20: No. 19
• Week of Feb. 27: No. 19
• Week of March 5: No. 19
• Week of March 12: No. 20
• Week of April 2: No. 20
• Week of April 16: No. 20
• Bucknell is looking for its first-ever Southern Championships title. The best the Bison have finished at the Southern Championships is second in 2005. Bucknell has placed among the top four each of the last four years after finishing better than fifth once in the first five years of the program's existence.
• Bucknell has lost just three times since March 13. All three of those losses have come by one goal. The largest deficit the Bison have lost by this year is five (13-8) to then-No. 6 San Diego State.
• Bucknell has not lost more than two games in a row at any point this season.
• The last time the Southern Championships were held at Kinney Natatorium was 2005. The Bison defeated George Washington (4-2) and Maryland (10-2) before falling to Princeton (8-3) in the championship game.
• Bucknell is 36-10 all-time at Kinney Natatorium and 7-0 at home this year. The Bison have won 12 of their last 13 contests at Kinney.
• Bucknell is 2-5 against ranked foes this season. It faced 11 ranked opponents in 2007.
• This weekend's Southern Championships will determine two automatic berths into next weekend's Eastern Championship. The top two teams in the Southern, Northern and Western Championships earn automatic berths into Easterns, while two additional squads will be awarded at-large berths.
• Freshman Kandis Canonica is on the verge of breaking the Bucknell single-season points record. She enters the weekend with 99 points, four shy of Meagan Gins' record of 103 she set in 2006. With one point, Canonica will become the sixth member of the current Bison squad with at least 100 career points.
• Junior Aubrey Rowe could break the Bison single-season steals record this weekend. She had 13 in three games last week to bring her team-high total to 74. Paige Cull holds the seven-year-old record with 80 steals.
Career Record Watch
• Meagan Gins: 1st in points (334), 1st in goals (228), 3rd in assists (106), t-9th in steals (135), 1st in ejections drawn (262), 1st in shots (555), 8th in games played (127), 1st in games started (124)
• Shana Palencia: 6th in sprints won (30)
• Aubrey Rowe: 7th in points (214), 6th in goals (136), 7th in assists (78), 5th in steals (159), 4th in ejections drawn (103), 5th in sprints won (45), 8th in shots (312), 9th in games started (81)
• Valentina Rozas: 10th in goals (111), 2nd in ejections drawn (133), 9th in shots (259)
• Jennifer Swoyer: 8th in ejections drawn (78), 9th in games played (110)
• Alison Carter: 4th in saves (247)
• Rachel McGillis: 5th in saves (108)
Season Record Watch
• Whitney Allen: 3rd in ejections drawn (67)
• Kandis Canonica: 2nd in points (99), 2nd in assists (55)
• Alison Carter: t-8th in saves (207)
• Meagan Gins: t-7th in points (85), 6th in assists (37), 6th in ejections drawn (55)
• Aubrey Rowe: 2nd in steals (74)
• Valentina Rozas: t-4th in goals (62), 2nd in ejections drawn (69)
Bucknell vs. Possible Weekend Opponents
• Bucknell vs. George Washington: 19-12 (Bucknell 15-game winning streak dating to 2004)
• Bucknell vs. Maryland: 16-6 (Bucknell snapped three-game losing streak earlier this year; has won two straight in series)
• Bucknell vs. Princeton: 1-23 (Last eight meetings decided by three goals or less; Bison posted their first win in series on March 28)
2008 Bucknell Weekly Honors
• CWPA Southern Division Player of the Week:
- Valentina Rozas (2/11, 2/18, 3/3)
- Alison Carter (4/1)
• Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week:
- Valentina Rozas (2/11, 3/3)
Up Next
• If Bucknell finishes in the top two at the Southern Championships, or earns one of the two at-large berths, it will play in the Eastern Championship in Ann Arbor, Mich., next weekend. The Bison have played in each of the last six Eastern Championships, with a fourth-place showing in 2006 the best finish.
Women's Water Polo Southern Championships Schedule
Saturday, April 19
Game 1: Bucknell (24-7, 5-1 CWPA) vs. George Washington (7-18, 0-6 CWPA), 9 a.m.
Game 2: Princeton (16-10, 4-2 CWPA) vs. Maryland (20-13, 3-3 CWPA), 10:30 a.m.
Consolation Game: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 4:30 p.m.
Championship Game: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 6 p.m.
