Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Opens North-South Invitational vs. Host Harvard Saturday Morning
9/14/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 14, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's water polo team heads on the road for a third straight weekend to start the season when it competes at the North-South Invitational Saturday and Sunday at Harvard. The Bison will open the eight-team tournament at 10:30 Saturday morning against the host Crimson. The semifinals will be held Saturday evening, while Sunday's championship is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Blodgett Pool.
All eight teams in the field will play three games during the tournament. Three ranked teams - No. 13 Princeton, No. 19 Brown and No. 20 St. Francis (N.Y.) - are among the squads participating in the event. The first-round matchups feature games pitting CWPA Northern Division teams (Brown, Harvard, Iona, St. Francis) against CWPA Southern Division squads (Bucknell, George Washington, Mercyhurst, Princeton).
North-South Invitational Schedule (Cambridge, Mass.)
Saturday, Sept. 15
Game 1: St. Francis (N.Y.) vs. Mercyhurst, 9 a.m.
Game 2: Harvard vs. Bucknell, 10:30 a.m.
Game 3: Princeton vs. Iona, 12 p.m.
Game 4: Brown vs. George Washington, 1:30 p.m.
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 5 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 16
7th Place: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 9 a.m.
5th Place: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 10:30 a.m.
3rd Place: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 12 p.m.
1st Place: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 1:30 p.m.
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Notebook (3-3, 0-0 CWPA)
• Last year's North-South Invitational was held at Navy. The weekend matchups were predetermined, unlike this year's tournament format. The Bison posted a 3-1 record, defeating Harvard, Iona and Fordham. Their lone loss was to Brown by a one-goal margin.
• Bucknell, in 2012, is averaging 19.3 goals per game in its three wins, compared to 5.3 goals per game in its three losses.
• Second-year Bison head coach John McBride recently tied Jim Harvey for seventh place on Bucknell's career games coached list (31). Next up on that list is Alan Huckins, who was on the pool deck for 43 games in 1993 and 1994. McBride is 18-13 during his Bison tenure.
• Bucknell has used the same starting lineup - Stefan Aleksic, Brian Barron, Julian Colina, Jack Else, Uros Markovic, Matt Napleton, Alex Nowlin - in all six games this season.
• Bucknell is 3-0 vs. unranked foes this year.
• Saturday's game vs. Harvard marks Bucknell's first true road game since playing at Harvard in last year's Eastern Championship. The Bison's first six games this year have been neutral-site contests.
• Junior Jack Else has scored 12 goals this year to rank tied for second on the team. He has scored at least one goal in five of the six contests and enters the weekend with 99 career points (82g, 17a). His 12 ejections drawn led the team.
• Freshman Stefan Aleksic has made an immediate impact on the Bison. A starter in all six games, he has registered at least one goal in all six contests and has posted five multi-point outings. He leads the squad in goals (13), points (22) and steals (11).
• Senior goalie Matt Napleton moved into seventh place on Bucknell's all-time saves list last weekend, passing former teammate Miles Gilhuly. Napleton has a team-high 48 stops this year and 379 in his career. Next up on the all-time ledger is sixth-place Rupert deVink, who posted 580 saves from 1990-93.
Bucknell's Weekly Awards in 2012
CWPA Southern Division Rookie of the Week
- Stefan Aleksic (Sept. 4)
Bucknell vs. Possible Weekend Opponents
• Bucknell vs. Brown: 21-31-2 (Bucknell has won 11 of the last 16 meetings)
• Bucknell vs. George Washington: 40-12 (Bucknell has won four of last five meetings)
• Bucknell vs. Harvard: 16-7 (Bucknell swept both games in 2011 by combined 31-19 score in first meetings since 2007)
• Bucknell vs. Iona: 23-16 (Teams have met six times since 2007 with the Bison winning all six)
• Bucknell vs. Marcyhurst: 7-0 (Bucknell has defeated Mercyhurst in its first game at the Southern Championships each of the last three years)
• Bucknell vs. Princeton: 31-42 (Princeton has won eight of the last 10 meetings)
• Bucknell vs. St. Francis: 4-26 (Bucknell snapped a 22-game losing streak with a 16-10 win at the 2011 Navy Labor Day Open)
Up Next
• Bucknell will open league play next weekend, Sept. 22-23. The Bison will play at Navy (2 p.m.) and George Washington (7:30 p.m.) on Saturday, before wrapping up the weekend at Johns Hopkins (11 a.m.) on Sunday.
