Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Faces Challenging Schedule at this Weekend's Princeton Invitational
9/12/2008 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 12, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Despite losing seven seniors to graduation, the Bucknell men's water polo team is back in the national rankings one week into the season. The Bison, who are ranked 18th in the country, will put that position on the line this weekend at the Princeton Invitational. Bucknell will face No. 3 Stanford and No. 15 Santa Clara on Sunday. Additionally, it will take on Iona and a talented George Washington squad that is listed just outside the national rankings.
Bucknell Schedule at Princeton Invitational
• Bucknell vs. George Washington – Saturday, 9 a.m.
• Bucknell vs. Iona – Saturday, 3:15 p.m.
• Bucknell vs. No. 3 Stanford – Sunday, 10:20 a.m.
• Bucknell vs. No. 15 Santa Clara – Sunday, 3 p.m.
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Notebook (3-1, 0-0 CWPA)
Bucknell Notes
• Bucknell has won at least three of its first four games for the third consecutive year.
• Bucknell was in the “also receiving votes” category in the preseason top-20 poll, but moved up to No. 18 after its 3-1 record at the Navy Open last weekend. The only loss for the Bison was against No. 1 California, the team that has claimed the last two national titles.
• Bucknell netted 46 goals in consecutive wins over Fordham, Queens and Iona last weekend. It was the most goals in a three-game stretch for the Bison since they scored 47 against MIT, Johns Hopkins and Gannon early in the 2006 campaign.
• Bucknell first-year head coach John Abdou, who went 26-10 as the head coach of the Bison women's team last spring, is now 29-11 in his career as a college head coach.
• Sophomore Richie Hyden led the Bison with 15 goals and 22 points last weekend. He is now just seven points shy of 100 in his career. He tallied at least two goals in each game last weekend, including a pair of five-goal outings. Hyden's nine points (5g, 4a) vs. Fordham were more points than any Bucknell player has had in a game since Kevin Permisohn tallied 12 points (4g, 8a) in a 1999 game against Salem-Teikyo.
• The Bison veterans carried the offensive load during the first weekend of the 2008 season. Veterans held down the top six spots on the team's scoring list. Sophomore Paul Reamey, who netted four goals and dished out one assist, was the highest-scoring newcomer.
• Abdou used three different starting lineups in the four games at the Navy Open last weekend.
Bucknell vs. Weekend Opponents
• Bucknell vs. George Washington: 31-9 (Bucknell holds 3-2 edge since 2006)
• Bucknell vs. Iona: 19-16 (Bucknell has three-game winning streak)
• Bucknell vs. Stanford: 0-4 (First meeting since 1988)
• Bucknell vs. Santa Clara: 3-3 (Bucknell has two-game winning streak)
Up Next
• Bucknell will travel to the ECAC Championship next weekend. The Bison will play Brown in their opening game at the two-day event. Next Friday, Sept. 19, prior to the beginning of the ECAC Championship, Bucknell will face MIT in a non-league game.
