Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Water Polo Travels to Navy for This Weekend's CWPA Championship
11/20/2014 3:20:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
LEWISBURG, Pa. – With a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line, the Bucknell men's water polo team will be competing this weekend in the CWPA Championship at Navy. The squad will be aiming to earn its first title since 1980.
This year's CWPA Championship will take place in Annapolis, Maryland, Nov. 21-23, and the winner of the Championship will receive at automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Bison, who are ranked 13th nationally, won't find out their first opponent until earlier in the day Friday. They will go up against the winner of match between St. Francis Brooklyn and Washington & Jefferson. The semifinals will take place on Saturday, with the finals set for Sunday.
St. Francis defeated Bucknell a season ago in the semifinals and went on to win the Championship, while Bucknell's division rival Princeton was the runner-up. The Bison finished in fourth place after defeating host Brown in the first round, and the squad finished with a 14-11 record on the season.
No. 8 Princeton, No. 11 Brown, No. 18 Harvard, No. 19 St. Francis College Brooklyn, and No. 20 Navy are all of the other ranked teams competing in this tournament. Additionally, eight of the 12 competitors are teams the Bison have faced this season. Princeton, Navy, and St. Francis have combined to claim every Eastern Championship crown since 2003.
Bucknell (15-8) has plenty of momentum heading into the CWPA Championship. The Bison went 3-1 in the Southern Championships two weeks ago, and reached the championship game for the fourth time in the past five years. Despite a 12-10 loss to Princeton in the title contest, Bucknell is a strong 11-3 over its past 14 games. However, all three of those losses have come at the hands of Princeton.
The Bison have reached the NCAA Tournament six times in program history, but hasn't earned a spot since 1985. Still, plenty of the athletes on this team have played vital roles down the stretch.
Stefan Aleksic, the active career leader in points for the Bison with 258, has been a centerpiece for Bucknell, and the few games that he has missed show how big of a playmaker he is. His 46 goals are second most on the team, while his 33 assists rank third.
A couple of rookies have also left their marks throughout the season. Grant Curry has burst onto the scene, and his 57 goals are the most on the squad. His 13 goals at the Southern Championships earned him the Bison Athlete of the Week Award and CWPA Rookie of the Week Award as well. Jeff Hagen has also contributed greatly on the offensive end with 36 goals and 35 ejections drawn.
Sean Daley and Nick Hale are the only two Bison who have started all 23 games, and they have tallied 63 and 54 points respectively. Daley's 39 assists rank most on the team. Hale now has 128 points in his career, second behind only Aleksic for active players.
In the net, Keegan Williams has made 186 saves in 21 starts, and his .520 save percentage is 35 points above his career average entering the season.
The semifinal match will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, with the final on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Bucknell's Weekly Awards in 2014
CWPA Player of the Week: Nick Hale (Oct. 9), Stefan Aleksic (Oct. 27)
CWPA Defensive Player of the Week: Keegan Williams (Oct. 27)
CWPA Rookie of the Week: Grant Curry (Oct. 2, Oct. 27, Nov. 11), Jeff Hagen (Oct. 9)
Bison Athlete of the Week: Stefan Aleksic (Oct. 27), Grant Curry (Nov. 10)
2014 CWPA Championship Schedule:
Friday, Nov. 21
Game 1: No. 8 seed George Washington vs. No. 9 seed Fordham, 10 a.m.
Game 2: No. 7 seed Johns Hopkins vs. No. 10 seed MIT, 11:20 a.m.
Game 3: Southern Third Place Navy vs. No. 11 seed Iona, 12:40 p.m.
Game 4: Northern Third Place St. Francis vs. No. 12 seed Washington & Jefferson, 2 p.m.
Game 5: Northern First Place Brown vs. Winner Game 1, 3:20 p.m.
Game 6: Southern First Place Princeton vs. Winner Game 2, 4:40 p.m.
Game 7: Northern Second Place Harvard vs. Winner Game 3, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Southern Second Place Bucknell vs. Winner Game 4, 7:20 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 22
Game 9: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 4, 11:30 a.m.
Game 10: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3, 12:45 p.m.
Game 11: Loser Game 8 vs. Loser Game 5, 2 p.m.
Game 12: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 6, 3:15 p.m.
Game 13: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 8, 4:30 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, 5:45 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 23
11th Place: Loser Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9, 9 a.m.
Ninth Place: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 10:20 a.m.
Seventh Place: Loser Game 12 vs. Loser Game 11, 11:40 a.m.
Fifth Place: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 1 p.m.
Third Place: Loser Game 14 vs. Loser Game 13, 2:30 p.m.
First Place: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14, 4 p.m.
