Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Water Polo Hosts Bison Invitational This Weekend
9/10/2015 1:51:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
LEWISBURG, Pa. – After traveling to Providence, Rhode Island, for the season's opening weekend, the Bucknell men's water polo team will have its first chance to play at home this weekend when it hosts the Bison Invitational. Kinney Natatorium will serve as the host facility for 20 games in a 48-hour span from Friday evening to Sunday evening.
Bucknell, which went 2-2 at last weekend's season-opening Bruno Classic, will play a total of five games over the weekend, with four of them counting toward the team's won-loss record. The Bison will open up the Invitational with a Friday contest against No. 13 Brown. They will also take on Penn State Behrend, Fordham, Toronto (exhibition) and Washington & Jefferson.
The Bison Invitational will feature a total of 10 teams, four of which are nationally ranked, including No. 13 Brown, No. 15 Navy, No. 17 Bucknell and No. 18 Johns Hopkins. The Bison were tied for 19th in the national rankings in the preseason poll and moved up two spots this week.
Bucknell has had tremendous success at Kinney Natatorium, posting a 65-31 home mark since the facility opened in 2003. The Bison were 6-2 at home last year and are 21-4 over the last three years. Sunday's 1 p.m. contest against Washington & Jefferson will be Bucknell's 100th game at Kinney Natatorium. Saturday's game against Fordham will be the 1,100th in the history of the Bison men's water polo program.
Bucknell last weekend defeated Harvard and nationally ranked St. Francis Brooklyn before falling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 4 Stanford. Jeff Hagen led the Bison with six goals, while Stefan Aleksic's nine points topped the squad in that category.
This is the first of three home weekends in 2015 for the Bison, who will play four league games at home Oct. 10-11 and will host the Southern Championships Nov. 6-8.
Bucknell will be idle next weekend and will next be in action Sept. 26 when it opens league play on the road against George Washington (11 a.m.) and Johns Hopkins (4 p.m.).
Bucknell All-Time vs. Weekend Opponents
Bucknell vs. Brown: 22-32-1 (Bison are 1-4 against Bears since 2011)
Bucknell vs. Penn State Behrend: 6-0 (First meeting since 2011)
Bucknell vs. Fordham: 38-3 (Bucknell won 30 games in a row until Fordham OT victory last September)
Bucknell vs. Toronto: exhibition game
Bucknell vs. Washington & Jefferson: 16-0 (Bucknell defeated Washington & Jefferson twice in 2014)
Bucknell in National Rankings in 2015
Preseason: t-No. 19
Sept. 9: No. 17
Bison Invitational Schedule
Friday, Sept. 11
Game 1 -- Bucknell vs. Brown, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 12
Game 2 -- Brown vs. Johns Hopkins, 9 a.m.
Game 3 -- Navy vs. Fordham, 10:15 a.m.
Game 4 -- George Washinton vs. Washington & Jefferson, 11:30 a.m.
Game 5 -- Bucknell vs. Penn State Behrend, 12:45 p.m.
Game 6 -- Mercyhurst vs. Toronto, 2 p.m.
Game 7 -- Brown vs. Navy, 3:15 p.m.
Game 8 -- Bucknell vs. Fordham, 4:30 p.m.
Game 9 -- George Washington vs. Mercyhurst, 5:45 p.m.
Game 10 -- Johns Hopkins vs. Washington & Jefferson, 7 p.m.
Game 11 -- Penn State Behrend vs. Toronto, 8:15 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 13
Game 12 -- Bucknell vs. Toronto, 8 a.m.
Game 13 -- Navy vs. Penn State Behrend, 9:15 a.m.
Game 14 -- Mercyhurst vs. Fordham, 10:30 a.m.
Game 15 -- George Washington vs. Johns Hopkins, 11:45 a.m.
Game 16 -- Bucknell vs. Washington & Jefferson, 1 p.m.
Game 17 -- Navy vs. Toronto, 2:15 p.m.
Game 18 -- Mercyhurst vs. Johns Hopkins, 3:30 p.m.
Game 19 -- George Washington vs. Fordham, 4:45 p.m.
Game 20 -- Washington & Jefferson vs. Penn State Behrend, 6 p.m.
