Women's Water Polo Will Spend Spring Break in California

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's water polo team will travel to California early next week to embark on a spring break trip that will feature eight games in six days. The Bison will play four mid-week road contests before heading to San Diego for the weekend-long Aztec Invitational to conclude the trip.

Bucknell (5-3, 0-0 CWPA Southern Division) has been idle since winning three of four games at the CWPA/MAAC Crossover at Harvard Feb. 22-23. The Bison are off to their best eight-game start to a season since 2010.

Bucknell opens next week's trip on Tuesday with an 8 p.m. game at Cal Baptist. The Bison will play at Pomona-Pitzer Wednesday and then at Concordia and Long Beach State on Thursday. Opponents at next weekend's Aztec Invitational include San Jose State, UC San Diego, host San Diego State and Cal Lutheran. Four of Bucknell's opponents are listed in the top 16 of this week's national poll.

Senior co-captain Julianne Valdes and sophomore Hannah Sunday are tied for the team lead in goals (11) this year. With 152 career goals and 254 career points, Valdes ranks ninth in program history in both categories. Her 102 career assists place her seventh on that ledger.

Sophomore Eleanor Marrs is the team leader in points thanks to six goals and 13 assists. She is just one point shy of matching her total from all of 2013.

Senior goalie Rena Heim has 64 saves and a career-best .547 save percentage this season. The three-year starter now has 725 career saves, placing her third in program history. Next up is second-place Lindsay Chesterfield and her 892 career saves.

Bucknell has tallied at least seven goals in each of its five victories this year, while it has not eclipsed six goals in any of its losses.

The Bison will take a weekend off after returning from California before commencing league play. Bucknell will travel to Erie, Pa., to face Princeton and host Mercyhurst the final weekend in March. The regular season will then wrap up April 5-6 with home league contests against Harvard, George Washington and Brown.

Bucknell's Weekly Awards/Honors in 2014
CWPA Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week: Rena Heim (Feb. 25)
CWPA Southern Division Rookie of the Week: Tegan Stanbach (Feb. 18)

Bison on Career Record Lists
Rena Heim: Saves (3rd, 725)
Stephanie Ovalle: Sprints Won (5th, 76)
Julianne Valdes: Points (9th, 254), Goals (9th, 152), Assists (7th, 102), Ejections Drawn (7th, 118), Sprints Won (4th, 83), Shots (9th, 375)