Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Faces Brown Friday in First Round of Eastern Championship
11/19/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 19, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's water polo team has five consecutive top-five finishes at the Eastern Championship and will try to make it six in a row this weekend. The Bison begin play at the Eastern Championship Friday at 2:30 p.m. against Brown. This year's event is taking place in Cambridge, Mass., at MIT, and all games will have live video available through the CWPA Web site.
Bucknell, the fourth-seeded team from the CWPA Southern Division, will play Brown, the Northern Division champion in the third game Friday. Semifinal and consolation games will be played Saturday, while Sunday will feature the championship game as well as other placement contests. The winner of the Eastern Championship earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship, which will take place at Princeton's DeNunzio Pool Dec. 5-6.
Three ranked teams (No. 12 Navy, No. 18 Princeton, No. 20 Johns Hopkins) are in the eight-team Eastern Championship field, while both Bucknell and Brown were in the “also receiving votes” category.
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Notebook (15-13, 6-2 CWPA)
• Bucknell open the Eastern Championship against Brown. If the Bison win, they will advance to the semifinals and will face the winner of the MIT-Princeton contest at 6 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's championship game is slated for 2:30 p.m.
• This is the 10th consecutive year Bucknell has played in the Eastern Championship. The Bison finished fourth in 2005 and 2006, marking its highest finish over that span. The Bucknell won the Eastern Championship four consecutive years (1977-80) and took second in 1985 and 1993.
• The winner of the Eastern Championship earns a berth in the NCAA Championship. Bucknell has advanced to the NCAA Championship five times, with the most recent coming in 1985.
• Bucknell is 13-1 this year and 45-1 in its last 46 games it has netted at least 10 goals.
• Bucknell has played a schedule littered with 15 ranked opponents this year. The Bison are 3-12 opposite ranked foes.
• Bucknell's senior class of Randy Ang, Nick Donahue, Andrew Nelson and Johnny Stupp have been part of 67 wins over the last four years. It is the most victories for a senior class since the 1998-2001 squads captured 71 victories.
• Bucknell has drawn 223 ejections this year. It is the second-highest total since the stat began being tracked in 1996. Last year's squad holds the record with 300 ejections drawn.
• Junior Richie Hyden continues to close in on a few career top-10 lists. Hyden has 176 goals, 119 assists and 295 points in his three-year career. He is now just eight goals, six assists and 17 points shy of 10th place on each of those career lists.
• Bucknell's top three scorers are juniors (Hyden, Howie Kalter, Sean Coghlan).
• Kalter and Coghlan are the only two Bison to start all 28 games this season.
• Senior goalie Nick Donahue enters the weekend in reach of his career high for saves. Donahue recorded 213 saves a year ago, while this year he has a team-best 196. The two-time CWPA Southern Division Player of the Week has nine double-figure save performances, including five in his last seven games.
• Hyden and Coghlan hold down two of the top four spots on Bucknell's single-season ejections drawn list. Hyden leads the team with 59, while Coghlan has 56. Hyden ranks fourth on the career list with 119, while Coghlan is fifth with 102.
• Despite not starting a game this year, Paul Reamey ranks fourth on the Bison with a career-high 40 points.
Bucknell's Weekly Awards in 2009
CWPA Southern Division Player of the Week
- Richie Hyden (Sept. 7, Oct. 19), Nick Donahue (Sept. 28, Nov. 10), Howie Kalter (Oct. 5)
CWPA Southern Division Rookie of the Week
- Brian Barron (Sept. 28, Oct. 5)
Bison Athlete of the Week
- Howie Kalter (Oct. 5)
About Brown
• 16-10 overall record.
• Defeated MIT and Fordham to win CWPA Northern Division title.
• Bring third three-game winning streak of season into Eastern Championship.
• Defeated Bucknell 7-6 at Princeton Invitational in only meeting this year.
Bucknell vs. Possible Weekend Opponents
• Navy: 14-72 (Bucknell won this year's meeting at Kinney Natatorium, snapping a 16-game losing streak)
• Brown: 19-27-2 (Bucknell had won eight in a row before 7-6 loss in September)
• Princeton: 29-36 (Bucknell is 6-5 in last 11 meetings dating to September 2007)
• Fordham: 33-2 (Bucknell leads season series 2-0)
• Johns Hopkins: 35-16 (Season series is tied at 2-2)
• MIT: 15-1 (third meeting since 2005 was played earlier this year)
• Iona: 22-16 (Bucknell won only meeting this year 9-6 at Princeton Invitational)
Up Next
• If Bucknell wins the Eastern Championship it will advance to the NCAA Championship for the sixth time in program history, and the first time since 1985. Navy has won the CWPA automatic bid each of the last three years.
Eastern Championship Schedule
Friday, Nov. 20
Game 1: Navy vs. Iona, 11:30 a.m.
Game 2: Fordham vs. Johns Hopkins, 1 p.m.
Game 3: Brown vs. Bucknell, 2:30 p.m.
Game 4: MIT vs. Princeton, 4 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 21
Game 5: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 1, 1:30 p.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 22
7th Place: Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 5, 10 a.m.
5th Place: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 11:30 a.m.
3rd Place: Loser Game 8 vs. Loser Game 7, 1 p.m.
1st Place: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2:30 p.m.
