Women's Water Polo Returns Home for Three League Games this Weekend

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's water polo team will be home this weekend for the first time since mid-February. The Bison will host league contests against Harvard (Saturday at 10 a.m.), George Washington (Saturday at 5:30 p.m.) and Brown (Sunday at 11:30 a.m.). Sunday's contest vs. Brown will air live on Bison Vision on the Patriot League Network.

Bucknell's five seniors – Samantha Deana, Mackenzie Ferry, Rena Heim, Stephanie Ovalle and Julianne Valdes – will be honored during Senior Day ceremonies prior to Saturday's George Washington game. That group has been part of 44 victories during their time as Bison.

A total of eight games will be played at Kinney Natatorium this weekend, with six slated for Saturday and two more for Sunday. This is the final weekend of the regular season as the six CWPA Southern Division teams will then turn their attention to next weekend's Southern Championships at Harvard.

Bucknell is coming off a 1-1 weekend, splitting contests against league foes Princeton and Mercyhurst in Erie. The Bison have won two of their last three games and bring an 8-10, 1-1 CWPA Southern Division record into the weekend.

Bucknell owns a 58-33 (.637) all-time record at Kinney Natatorium and is 2-2 in the venue this year.

Valdes enters the weekend as the leading scorer for the Bison with 24 goals on the year. It is her fourth consecutive 20-goal season and she now ranks seventh in program history in goals (165), assists (112) and points (277). She has five multi-goal outings this year, including a season high-tying four-goal output last time out at Mercyhurst.

Eleanor Marrs tops the Bison in points with 40, and her 23 assists also lead the team. She has posted multiple goals in three of the last four contests and earlier this year she had a stretch of seven consecutive games with at least one assist.

Goalie Rena Heim posted 17 saves in two games last week and is now just three stops from becoming the third person in program history to tally 800 career saves. She has six double-figure save performances this season.

Bucknell has not yet faced any of its weekend opponents this season. Harvard brings a 12-14, 1-1 CWPA mark into the weekend, while George Washington is 9-12, 0-2 CWPA. Brown, which defeated Harvard on Wednesday, is 14-12, 2-0 CWPA.

Next up for the Bison after this weekend is the Southern Championships, April 12-13 in Cambridge, Mass.

Bucknell vs. Weekend Opponents
Bucknell vs. Harvard: 8-14 (Harvard has won seven straight in the series)
Bucknell vs. George Washington: 32-18 (Bucknell went 1-3 last year, but captured seventh-place game at Eastern Championship vs. Colonials)
Bucknell vs. Brown: 6-13 (Teams split two meetings a year ago)

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, 797)
Stephanie Ovalle: Sprints Won (5th, 78)
Hannah Sunday: Ejections Drawn (8th, 115)
Julianne Valdes: Points (7th, 277), Goals (7th, 165), Assists (7th, 112), Ejections Drawn (6th, 126), Sprints Won (4th, 86), Shots (7th, 408), Games Started (8th, 108)

Weekend Schedule
Saturday, April 5
Bucknell vs. Harvard, 10 a.m.
Princeton vs. Brown, 11:30 a.m.
Mercyhurst vs. George Washington, 1 p.m.
Princeton vs. Harvard, 4 p.m.
Bucknell vs. George Washington, 5:30 p.m.
Mercyhurst vs. Brown, 7 p.m.

Sunday, April 6
Mercyhurst vs. Harvard, 10 a.m.
Bucknell vs. Brown, 11:30 a.m. (Bison Vision on Patriot League Network)