No. 9 Princeton Visits Kinney Natatorium Saturday

10/30/2014 6:16:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

By: TBD

LEWISBURG, Pa. – After the most successful California road trip in program history, Bucknell men's water polo will return home for Senior Day. No. 9 Princeton will be in town Saturday at 1 p.m. to take on the Bison in Kinney Natatorium.

Bucknell, which is ranked 12th, was able to leave California with a clean 5-0 performance in the Santa Clara Rodeo, beating four nationally ranked teams. The Bison started off with a 9-8 victory over No. 15 Santa Clara on Friday, and their momentum continued on Saturday with victories over No. 13 Air Force (9-7) and No. 19 Cal Baptist (13-10). The conclusion of the Rodeo came Sunday, with the Bison earning a pair of victories over No. 12 UC Davis (11-10) and unranked Fresno Pacific (9-8).

Bucknell (12-6 overall, 4-3 CWPA Southern Division) will carry a seven-game winning streak into its match with Princeton, equaling the program's largest winning streak since a nine-game streak back in 2007. Additionally, the squad now has seven victories over ranked opponents this season, all coming in just over the past month.

Several key members have helped contribute to this success. In the five California victories, Bison Athlete of the Week Stefan Aleksic led the team with 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) and now has 63 points on the season. Grant Curry had a team-high 11 goals, while Nick Hale contributed a team-high 13 assists.

Keegan Williams' 43 saves on the weekend increased his season total to 160. Taking a look at the program's top-10 lists, Nate Hunter (47 ejections drawn) is just one away from tying Gabriel Heiber for 10th on the program's single-season list.

Head coach John McBride recorded his 58th career win as the Bison coach last weekend, and his record over the past four years sits at 58-41. He passed Lynn Kachmarik (coach from 1987-1990), who will be inducted into the Bucknell Hall of Fame on Friday, for fourth-most wins in program history.

Williams and Ken Wattana, the two seniors on this year's team, will be honored before the game against Princeton in celebration of Senior Day. Princeton will be no easy foe, however. The Tigers are 17-3 this season, and defeated Bucknell 9-6 back on Sept. 28. Princeton is riding a six-game winning streak into the match.

The Bison will try to continue their home success on Saturday. Bucknell is 65-30 (.684) all-time in Kinney Natatorium, including 6-1 this year and 21-3 in its last 24 home outings.

This will be the final regular season game for the Bison, but the Southern Championships begin on Nov. 7 at Princeton's DeNunzio Pool.

Bucknell All-Time vs. Weekend Opponents
Bucknell vs. Princeton: 34-46 (Teams have split their last six meetings)

Bucknell's Weekly Awards in 2014
CWPA Player of the Week: Nick Hale (Oct. 9)
CWPA Rookie of the Week: Grant Curry (Oct. 2), Jeff Hagen (Oct. 9)
Bison Athlete of the Week: Stefan Aleksic (Oct. 27)