Bucknell University Athletics
Three Bucknell Men's Water Polo Players Named All-Conference
11/21/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 21, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell men's water polo players Brian Barron (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick), Matt Napleton (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) and Jack Else (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) were named to the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) All-Southern Division Teams, it was announced at the Eastern Championship banquet Friday evening. Barron and Napleton were first-team selections, while Else was a second-team choice.
Barron added additional hardware to his collection when he was one of two Bison, along with Julian Colina (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic), to be named Second Team All-Eastern Championship after helping Bucknell (15-10) to a fifth-place finish. Barron totaled six goals, four assists, seven steals and drew four ejections in three games at the Eastern Championship, while Colina registered nine goals, three assists, two steals and four ejections drawn.
All four Bison who were recognized this past weekend earned their first career postseason honors from the CWPA, and all four are underclassmen who will return to the team next fall.
Barron, a junior, finished the season second on the team in goals (44) and points (70), while his 39 steals paced the squad. He missed a handful of games midseason, but still posted career highs in goals, assists, points, steals, shots and ejections drawn.
An offensive force early in the season with 22 goals in the first seven games, Barron posted 13 multi-goal outings in 2011. He will enter his senior campaign six goals shy of 100 in his career and his 146 career points are most among current Bison.
Napleton earned first-team honors after a breakout season. He split time in goal with 2011 Bucknell graduate Miles Gilhuly last fall, but this year he was the full-time starter and registered 229 saves in 24 starts. Napleton finished the year with a .511 save percentage and was just 24 stops shy of joining Bucknell's single-season saves top-10 list.
Napleton posted 12 double-figure save performances in his 24 outings, including a career high of 16 in a September win over George Washington.
A sophomore, Else led the Bison in goals with 49 this year, while his 78 ejections drawn set a program single-season record. He finished the year strong with seven goals, two assists and 14 ejections drawn in three games at the Eastern Championship. Else broke a school single-game record with nine ejections drawn during Saturday's 13-11 overtime win over Harvard.
A center, Else scored at least one goal in 21 of Bucknell's 25 games. He finished with 16 multi-goal outings and netted a season-high four scores on four occasions.
Colina, a sophomore attacker, was the Bison's third-leading scorer this fall and he concluded the year with a strong performance at Easterns. He totaled nine goals, three assists, four ejections drawn and two steals during the three-game weekend and was the only Bucknell player with three multi-goal outings.
Bucknell finished in the top five at the Eastern Championship for an eighth consecutive year. The Bison won five of their final seven contests to finish 15-10 overall, their fifth above-.500 record in the last six years.
CWPA All-Southern Division Team Members
Brian Barron - First Team
Matt Napleton - First Team
Jack Else - Second Team
All-Eastern Championship Team Members
Brian Barron - Second Team
Julian Colina - Second Team
