Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Opens 2012 Campaign at this Weekend's Navy Labor Day Open
8/30/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Aug. 30, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The first weekend in September is here, which means the Bucknell men's water polo team will be heading south to begin its season. The Bison will open the 2012 campaign this weekend at the Navy Labor Day Open, marking the 19th consecutive year they have played their season opener in Annapolis.
Bucknell is scheduled to play three games this weekend, although only two will count in the team's official record. The Bison will open against Notre Dame (Ohio) Saturday at 1:20 p.m. They will then face Mt. San Antonio in an exhibition game that night at 7:10 p.m. The weekend will then conclude Sunday at 9:30 a.m. against Iona. All three contests will take place at Scott Natatorium.
Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between Bucknell and Notre Dame (Ohio). The Falcons were 12-8 a year ago.
The Bison will face Iona on Sunday, marking the 40th meeting in series history. Bucknell has won all six meetings since 2007.
This weekend's Navy Open features 11 collegiate teams and five high school/club programs. Play begins Friday at 9:30 a.m. with the last game starting at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Two different pools will host the weekend's 51 games.
Bucknell's Navy Labor Day Open Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 1
Bucknell vs. Notre Dame (Ohio), 1:20 p.m.
Bucknell vs. Mt. San Antonio (exhibition), 7:10 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 2
Bucknell vs. Iona, 9:30 a.m.
Below is a more detailed season outlook heading into the 2012 campaign:
It is year two of the John McBride era at Bucknell and the Bison's intense head coach continues to expect a win in every game. While the former SWAT officer knows an undefeated season is not likely, he still pushes his team to strive for perfection. This is best shown by his response when asked if a 5-2 record over the season's final seven games in 2011 will help propel the squad to more success in 2012. He responded, "We look at it as a lack of success. While most teams would be happy going 5-2, we were disappointed. We had a good season, but it wasn't good enough. Every season we don't win an Eastern Championship is a disappointment, especially with the effort we put forth."
Bucknell posted a solid 15-10 record last fall against a schedule that was littered with 11 nationally ranked foes. The Bison finished fifth at the Eastern Championship, their eighth consecutive top-five finish at the year-ending event, and registered their fifth above-.500 record in the last six years.
Five seniors have departed the team since last year, but only one was a regular starter, meaning McBride has high hopes for this year's edition.
Senior captains Brian Barron and Matt Napleton have the highest expectations placed on them by McBride.
"Both Brian and Matt understand that this is it and in three-and-one-half months it is all going to be over," commented McBride about the only two members of the senior class. "We expect them to lead us to a championship this year. They have shown they care and have gotten their teammates on board. They not only do it with their mouth, but they do it with their actions in the pool. They can hold others accountable because they are working hard. They are being leaders in the pool without having to open their mouths."
Barron's 81 games played and 51 starts in his career are both by far the most among current Bison. He was second on the team in scoring with a career-high 44 goals last year, bringing his career figure to within six of the century mark. A CWPA Southern Division First Team selection and a member of the All-Eastern Championship Second Team, Barron tallied at least one point in each of his 21 games played in 2011.
Napleton took over the starting goalie position for the first time last year and excelled. He notched a career-high 229 saves in nearly 750 minutes of playing time. A five-time CWPA Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week, Napleton joined Barron on the conference's All-Southern Division First Team at the conclusion of the campaign.
"Matt is playing with more confidence this year," stated McBride. "He knows what my expectations are of him as a goalie. Until last year, I don't think he ever felt the kind of pressue I put on a goalie and he now accepts that. In my opinion the goalie is more than 50 percent of the team's success."
While Barron and Napleton will lead the Bison, a large and talented seven-person junior class may very well decide the ultimate success of the team.
"We are fortunate we started out so young last year and all the current juniors received so much playing time," mentioned McBride. "They have a year in my system and know where I am coming from. The next two years with that class are going to be really good and as we continue to bring in strong recruiting classes, we expect to be stacked each year. It will be a revolving door."
Alex Nowlin made one of the biggest splashes among the current juniors last year when he led the team in scoring with 88 points. His team-high 62 assists tied for 10th on the program's single-season list as he became the first Bison to join that ledger in more than a decade.
"Obviously, passing is crucial to being a good teammate, but I would like to see Alex take some more opportunities to shoot the ball," said McBride, who also coaches the Bison women's water polo team. "He was more of a pass first, shoot second player and it has to be the other way."
While Nowlin led the team in points, one half of a talented center combination paced the squad in goals as Jack Else notched 49 goals a year ago, more than doubling his freshman-year total of 21. The only member of the Bison to start every game and a CWPA Southern Division Second Team pick, Else split time at center with classmate Mike Kimble. Kimble registered 24 goals and drew at least one ejection in 21 of 25 outings.
"We actually have four centers this year," said a smiling McBride. "In addition to Jack and Mike we have freshmen Andrew Roberts and Jedd Thayer. Our whole offense revolves around our centers. We will keep rotating centers in and keeping them fresh. The other teams may only have one or two center defenders and they are going to get tired."
Bucknell has a very solid center defender who is also a junior, but who was not with the team last year. Uros Markovic played in a handful of games as a freshman in 2010, but decided not to play last year. He returned during the preseason and has impressed McBride.
"Uros came back this year and I think he will be our starting center defender," remarked McBride. "He said last year that it was too hard, but this year he came in with a different understanding and has accepted it."
Another junior, Andrew Somers, will also see time at center defender along with Markovic. Somers is a veteran of 25 career games, including 21 last year. He has five goals, six assists and 10 steals during his Bison tenure.
Junior Julian Colina will add some firepower on the offensive end of the pool. He had a breakout year in 2011 and ranked third on the squad with a career-high 35 goals. He also dished out 24 assists, giving him 59 points, the third-highest total on the team.
"Julian is Julian. We just plug him into the right position and he is productive," praised McBride. "With (freshman) Stefan (Aleksic) here we might have to adjust his position in six-on-five situations and that might affect his goal production a little bit, but we will have a nice one-two punch at the top with him and Stefan."
The final member of the junior class is Stephen Norton. McBride envisions him, as well as his sophomore brother, Greg, continuing to fill a reserve role. Sophomore Ken Wattana and classmate Keegan Williams, a backup goalie, will also continue to come off the bench and provide valuable minutes.
McBride has seen plenty of promise in his six-person freshman class early in preseason practice. In addition to Aleksic, Roberts and Thayer, Nick Hale, Max McKelvy and Max Wilder have joined the squad as first-year players.
There is a significant rule change in 2012 that will impact some of McBride's philosophy. Last year he focused on developing a great counter attack, but the length of the pool has been shortended from 30 meters to 25 meters, meaning the counter attack will not be as large a part of the game. McBride has shifted the focus to the frontcourt offense to combat the lost five meters.
"Teams that may have been a little slower than us will now be equal to us," predicted McBride when discussing the shorter playing area. "We are not swimming in practice as much because of it."
