Bucknell University Athletics
League Play Begins this Weekend for Bucknell Men's Water Polo
9/22/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 22, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. –The Bucknell men's water polo team will kick off its league schedule this weekend when it plays games at Johns Hopkins, No. 16 Navy and George Washington. The Bison will take on the Blue Jays and Mids on Saturday before wrapping up the weekend Sunday with a contest in the nation's capital against the Colonials.
Bucknell was just 2-6 in CWPA Southern Division league play last year, but the Bison ended up putting together a run to the Southern Championships title game, posting their best finish at the event since 1998.
Bucknell's Weekend Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 24
at Johns Hopkins, 12 p.m.
at No. 16 Navy, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 25
at George Washington, 12 p.m.
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Notebook (5-1, 0-0 CWPA)
• Bucknell is off to a 5-1 start for the second consecutive year. Last year the Bison won six games before suffering their second loss of the season (Sept. 12 vs. St. Francis).
• Bucknell is listed tied for 18th in this week's CWPA national top-20 poll. The Bison are tied with Brown, the team that handed them their only loss of the season.
• Bucknell has outscored opponents 90-50 overall, including 46-19 in the first half, this year.
• Bucknell is assisting on a staggering number of goals this season. The Bison have earned assists on 86 of 90 (95.6%) of goals this season. Last year's team registered assists on 199 of 322 (61.8%) goals.
• Sophomore left-hander Alex Nowlin leads the Bison in points (38) and assists (23) this season. He has six multi-point outings in the first six games and only once has tallied fewer than six points in a game. He has already surpassed his freshman-year offensive totals of 10 assists and 25 points.
• Nowlin dished out six assists this past Sunday against Iona. He was the first Bison to record at least six assists in a game since Tate Greditzer in 1999.
• Brian Barron (104) and Beau Caillouette (102) recently moved past the 100-point plateau for their careers. Barron leads the Bison with 20 goals this season, while Caillouette has seven goals, six assists and is third on the squad with eight ejections drawn. Spencer Richley is likely the next Bison to reach 100 points as he enters this weekend with 94 points in his four-year career.
• Barron has registered six multi-goal games this season. He posted just nine multi-goal games all of last year.
• Sophomore Trevor Reitz, who is also a key member of the Bison swimming team, has won 15 of 19 sprints this season. He has now won 39 of 50 sprints in his two-year career.
• Sophomores Jack Else (16) and Mike Kimble (10) have earned a combined 26 ejections this season. That figure is half of the team's total of 52.
• Two-time CWPA Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week Matt Napleton recorded a career-high 11 saves this past Sunday against Iona. He has played 184 minutes in cage this year and has 42 saves, boosting his career figure to 144.
• This weekend's games mark the first of eight straight league contests for the Bison. Bucknell will play each team in its division twice, once home and once away.
• Bucknell will be playing its first true road contests of the year this weekend. The Bison's first six games have been neutral-site matchups.
Bucknell's Weekly Awards in 2011
Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week
- Alex Nowlin (Sept. 5)
CWPA Southern Division Offensive Player of the Week
- Alex Nowlin (Sept. 6, Sept. 20)
CWPA Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week
- Matt Napleton (Sept. 6, Sept. 20)
About Johns Hopkins (Saturday at 12 p.m.)
• Bucknell leads the all-time series 36-18.
• Johns Hopkins won both meetings last year by one goal.
• Bucknell holds a 12-5 advantage in the series since the beginning of 2006.
• Johns Hopkins is 7-3 this year and split games vs. Iona and Brown last weekend at the North vs. South Invitational.
• Johns Hopkins opens league play with an 8 p.m. game vs. Princeton on Friday (Sept. 23).
About No. 16 Navy (Saturday at 7 p.m.)
• Navy leads the all-time series 74-15.
• Navy claimed last year's season series 2-1.
• Bucknell defeated Navy at last year's Southern Championships, becoming the first team other than Princeton to defeat the Mids at the event.
• Navy has won 19 of last 21 meetings.
• Navy is ranked No. 16 nationally.
• Navy is 13-3 overall, including 7-1 at home, this year.
About George Washington (Sunday at 12 p.m.)
• Bucknell leads the all-time series 38-12.
• Bucknell won two of three meetings last year.
• George Washington is 5-6 this year. The Colonials have lost five of their last seven outings.
Up Next
• Bucknell will be idle next weekend, but will return to action Saturday, Oct. 8, when it completes its first round of league play with a road contest at Princeton. Game time is 2 p.m. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 13 in the country.
