Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Heads Back to Princeton for Five-Game Weekend
2/23/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 23, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - For the second time in three weekends the Bucknell women's water polo team will be heading to Princeton's DeNunzio Pool for a handful of games. The Bison, who went 2-2 at the season-opening Princeton Invitational two weeks ago, will open the weekend with a conference game against the host Tigers Friday at 8 p.m. They will then play four MAAC opponents Saturday and Sunday as part of the CWPA/MAAC Crossover event.
Bucknell, which will face Siena and Iona on Saturday and Villanova and Wagner on Sunday, brings a 3-5 record into the weekend. The Bison have had a number of close losses as three have come by two goals or less, while their wins have come by an average margin of nearly seven goals.
Bucknell's Weekend Schedule
Friday, Feb. 24
at No. 18 Princeton, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25
vs. Siena, 9 a.m.
vs. Iona, 4 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 26
vs. Villanova, 10:30 a.m.
vs. Wagner, 3:15 p.m.
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Notebook (3-5, 0-1 CWPA)
• Bucknell will be playing both Siena and Wagner for a second consecutive weekend at Princeton. The Bison defeated Siena by a 13-7 score and lost to Wagner by a 9-8 margin at this past weekend's Bison Invitational.
• Bucknell has outscored its opponents 74-73 this season.
• Bucknell is in a stretch where it will have games on seven consecutive weekends until an idle weekend March 31-April 1.
• Bucknell will be facing a second consecutive ranked opponent when it takes on No. 18 Princeton Friday night. The Bison are 0-1 against ranked foes, having dropped a 15-9 decision to No. 16 Hartwick on Sunday. Bucknell's last win over a ranked opponent was in 2010 at then-No. 19 Princeton.
• Freshman Taylor Barnett had the best offensive performance among all Bison last weekend. The Houston, Texas, native tallied 11 goals thanks to four multi-goal outings. Her four scores against Siena equaled Amanda Skonezney for the most goals in a game by a Bucknell player this season.
• Skonezney leads the Bison in goals this season with 16. She is already more than halfway to her career high of 27. Skonezney, who is second on the squad in points (20), has tallied at least one goal in seven consecutive games. She enters the weekend 10 goals shy of 100 for her career.
• Senior Hallie Kennan leads Bucknell in points with 23 this year. She now has 136 goals, 82 assists and 218 points in her four-year career. Kennan ranks 10th in program history in goals, 12th in assists and 11th in points.
• Sophomore Stephanie Ovalle has won a team-best 12 of 15 sprints this year. She now ranks tied for seventh on the Bison career ledger with 38 sprints won in her two years as a Bison.
• Sophomore Julianne Valdes enters the weekend four points shy of 100 in her career.
• Senior Brittany Connell and sophomore Rena Heim have split time in goal this year with each earning four starts. Connell has 27 saves and recently crossed the 200 plateau for her career, while Heim has a team-high 32 stops.
Bison on Career Record Lists
Brittany Connell: Saves (6th, 209)
Rena Heim: Saves (7th, 155)
Hallie Kennan: Points (11th, 218), Goals (10th, 136), Assists (12th, 82), Shots (11th, 356)
Stephanie Ovalle: Sprints (t-7th, 38)
Amanda Skonezney: Games Started (11th, 94)
Bucknell vs. Weekend Opponents
• Bucknell vs. Princeton: 5-30 (Princeton has a two-game winning streak; three of last four meetings have been decided by two goals or less.)
• Bucknell vs. Siena: 6-0 (Bucknell has won the six meetings by a combined 48 goals.)
• Bucknell vs. Iona: 4-5 (Bucknell has won three of last four meetings.)
• Bucknell vs. Villanova: 15-6 (Bucknell has won 13 meetings in a row; teams have not faced each other since February 2009.)
• Bucknell vs. Wagner: 11-2 (Bucknell won first 11 meetings; Wagner has won last two by one goal apiece.)
Up Next
• Bucknell will travel to Cambridge, Mass., for the Harvard Invitational next weekend, March 3-4. The Bison will play three games, taking on George Washington, Iona and the host Crimson.
