Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Ends Long Layoff with Four Games at this Weekend's North vs. South Invitational
9/15/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 15, 2011
| BUY PHOTOSLEWISBURG, Pa. - For the second time in three weeks the Bucknell men's water polo team will make the drive south to Annapolis, Md., this weekend when it plays four games at the North vs. South Invitational. The Bison face Harvard (1:30 p.m.) and Brown (6 p.m.) on Saturday and will then wrap up the weekend with games against Iona (10:20 a.m.) and Fordham (1:20 p.m.) on Sunday.
Bucknell (2-0) has been idle for nearly two weeks since the season-opening Navy Labor Day Open Sept. 3-4. The Bison Invitational, which was scheduled to be held at Kinney Natatorium last weekend, was cancelled due to widespread flooding in Central Pennsylvania.
A total of 28 games will be played this weekend in Navy's two facilities, Scott Natatorium and Lejeune Hall.
Bucknell's Weekend Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 17
Bucknell vs. Harvard, 1:30 p.m. (Lejeune Hall)
Bucknell vs. Brown, 6 p.m. (Scott Natatorium)
Sunday, Sept. 18
Bucknell vs. Iona, 10:20 a.m. (Scott Natatorium)
Bucknell vs. Fordham, 1:20 p.m. (Scott Natatorium)
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Notebook (2-0, 0-0 CWPA)
• Bucknell enters the North vs. South Invitational with a 2-0 record this season. The Bison defeated Gannon (21-6) and nationally ranked St. Francis (16-10) on opening weekend two weeks ago.
• Bucknell is ranked 16th in the nation for a second consecutive week. The Bison were No. 19 in the country in the CWPA preseason poll, but they moved up after their upset of then-No. 11 St. Francis (N.Y.).
• Bucknell will make a trip to Annapolis, Md., to play in each of its first three weekends of competition. The Bison opened the campaign at the Navy Labor Day Open (Sept. 3-4), will play at this weekend's North vs. South Invitational and will play a league contest at Navy next Saturday.
• This weekend's North vs. South Invitational predominantly features teams from the CWPA Northern Division facing squads from the CWPA Southern Division. Bucknell is in the CWPA Southern Division, East Region with George Washington, Johns Hopkins, Navy and Princeton.
• Current Bison head coach John McBride will get his first chance to face his former team Saturday evening when Bucknell takes on Brown. McBride was an assistant with the Bears for the last seven years before being hired as the eighth coach in Bison history this past offseason.
• Bucknell has outscored its first two opponents by an 18-6 margin in the first half this year.
• Alex Nowlin (15), Brian Barron (12) and Trevor Reitz (10) have already reached double figures in points this season. Nowlin is just 10 points shy of his 2010 freshman-year total.
• Bucknell is off to a 2-0 start for the second consecutive year.
Bucknell's Weekly Awards in 2011
CWPA Southern Division Offensive Player of the Week
- Alex Nowlin (Sept. 6)
CWPA Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week
- Matt Napleton (Sept. 6)
Bucknell vs. Weekend Opponents
• Harvard: 14-7 (First meeting since 2007)
• Brown: 21-28-2 (Bucknell has won 11 of the last 13 meetings)
• Iona: 22-16 (Teams have met five times since 2007 with Bison winning all five)
• Fordham: 35-2 (Bucknell won both of last year's meetings by three goals)
Up Next
• Bucknell opens league play next weekend with three games. The Bison will play at Johns Hopkins (12 p.m.) and Navy (7 p.m.) on Saturday and George Washington (12 p.m.) on Sunday.
