Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Back in Action this Weekend at Princeton
3/31/2011 8:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
March 31, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After an idle weekend, the Bucknell women's water polo team will be back in action this weekend when it plays three games at Princeton's DeNunzio Pool. The Bison will face No. 7 Michigan and No. 18 Princeton on Saturday and will then conclude the weekend with a Sunday morning contest against St. Francis (N.Y.).
This weekend's games will mark Bucknell's first contests in the Eastern time zone since hosting the ECAC Championship Feb. 26-27. The Bison recently played seven games in California during Spring Break.
Bucknell's Weekend Schedule (all games at Princeton's DeNunzio Pool)
Saturday, April 2
No. 7 Michigan, 10 a.m.
No. 18 Princeton, 6 p.m.
Sunday, April 3
St. Francis (N.Y.), 10 a.m.
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Notebook (9-8, 0-0 CWPA)
• Bucknell posted a 4-3 mark on its Spring Break trip to California two weeks ago. All three losses were to ranked teams.
• With No. 7 Michigan and No. 18 Princeton on the schedule this weekend, Bucknell is in the midst of a stretch where it will face five ranked opponents in a seven-game span.
• Saturday's game against Michigan is the first CWPA Western Division league game for Bucknell this year. The Bison are in a new division this season and are joined by Michigan, Indiana, Gannon, Hartwick and Mercyhurst.
• Saturday's Bucknell-Princeton game will have a live video broadcast available through Princeton's website, GoPrincetonTigers.com.
• Bucknell, which is 0-3 against ranked teams this year, will be aiming for its first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating then-No. 19 Princeton at last year's Southern Championships.
• This will be Bucknell's first visit to DeNunzio Pool this year. Last year, the Bison were 4-2 in six games in the facility.
• While in California, Kandis Canonica broke Bucknell's career scoring record. With four points against Concordia, she moved past Aubrey Rowe and into first place on the all-time points list. Canonica now has 178 goals, a Bucknell-record 198 assists and a record 376 points in her four-year career.
• Canonica has scored at least one point in 43 consecutive games in which she has played.
• Saturday's game against Princeton is one of just two remaining road games for the Bison. Bucknell will also play at Gannon in the middle of April.
• Senior Haley Prickett enters the weekend with 97 career goals. She will try to become the third current Bison to hit the century mark, joining Canonica (178) and junior Hallie Kennan (102).
• Junior Amanda Skonezney has won a team-high 22 sprints this year (22-for-44). She now has 138 sprints won in her career, moving her into first place in program history. Eileen Ketterer had held the record of 131 since 2003.
• Kennan has registered nine consecutive multi-point outings. She leads the team in goals (31), points (46) and steals (24).
• Freshman Julianne Valdes has scored at least one goal in 15 of 17 games this season. She ranks second on the squad with 29 goals, while her 24 ejections drawn pace the squad.
• Bucknell's goalie tandem of junior Brittany Connell and freshman Rena Heim have combined for 143 saves this year. Connell has 66 stops, pushing her career total to 122, while Heim has 77 saves and a .513 save percentage. Both have played the same number of minutes (272:00).
• Bucknell is 22-3 since the beginning of 2010 when netting at least 10 goals.
Bison on Career Record Lists
Kandis Canonica: Points (1st, 376), Goals (5th, 178), Assists (1st, 198), Ejections Drawn (4th, 158), Shots (4th, 415), Games Started (7th, 108)
Brittany Connell: Saves (6th, 122)
Rena Heim: Saves (7th, 77)
Haley Prickett: Ejections Drawn (6th, 103)
Amanda Skonezney: Sprints Won (1st, 138)
Bucknell's Weekly Awards in 2011
CWPA Western Division Player of the Week
- Julianne Valdes (Feb. 14)
CWPA Western Division Rookie of the Week
- Julianne Valdes (Feb. 14), Julianne Valdes (March 22)
Bucknell vs. Weekend Opponents
• Bucknell vs. Michigan: 0-13 (Michigan won lone meeting last year, 13-7, at Elite 8 Tournament)
• Bucknell vs. Princeton: 5-29 (Teams split last year's season series 2-2)
• Bucknell vs. St. Francis (N.Y.): 2-1 (Teams last met in 2008 with Bison winning 10-8 at Kinney Natatorium)
Up Next
• Bucknell has seven games remaining on its schedule after this weekend, with five of those taking place at Kinney Natatorium. The Bison will host Indiana, Harvard, Maryland and George Washington next weekend (April 9-10).
