Men's Water Polo Begins Conference Schedule With Road Games at GW, No. 17 Johns Hopkins

LEWISBURG, Pa. – After an idle weekend following the Bison Invite, the Bucknell men's water polo team returns to the pool on Saturday with a pair of road matches, the squad's first conference games of the season. The first game will be held at 11 a.m. in Washington, D.C., against George Washington, and will be followed by a 4 p.m. contest in Baltimore, Maryland, against No. 17 Johns Hopkins.

Bucknell, which is now ranked 15th nationally, sits at 7-2 after coming off of a perfect weekend at the Bison Invite. The squad went 5-0, highlighted by an 8-7 victory over No. 13 Brown and a 20-8 triumph over Washington & Jefferson in which 11 different Bison tallied a goal. Stefan Aleksic led the team at the event, earning him the CWPA Southern Division Player of the Week Award. His performance included 13 goals, six assists, seven steals, and four ejections drawn over the five matches.

The Bison have had historical success against both opponents that they will face on Saturday. They hold a 46-16 all-time record against George Washington. This includes two regular-season victories over a ranked Colonial squad from a season ago in addition to a 10-7 victory over them in the CWPA Championships. George Washington will enter the weekend with a 2-6 record, which includes a 1-3 performance at the Bison Invite in its most recent games.

Bucknell has a 43-22 all-time record over Johns Hopkins, including a 2-1 performance against them last year. Still, the Blue Jays come into the weekend with a 6-1 record and a squad that features some offensive firepower, as they have tallied more than 17 goals per game in their six victories thus far. Charlie Niehaus will be a vital piece in this game, and the goalie will look to replicate his performance from the Bison Invite, where he recorded 33 saves compared to just 23 goals allowed.

Sean Daley and Jeff Hagen are two players who have started this season off strong to help the Bison to their 7-2 record. Daley's 14 assists leads all players while Hagen's 15 goals are second on the squad behind Aleksic's 18 scores. The current five-game winning streak is the longest for the squad since it won seven in a row last October.

Following Saturday's matches, the Bison will return to Kinney Natatorium for four conference games Oct. 10-11. Bucknell will be host to George Washington and Princeton on Saturday as well as Johns Hopkins and Navy on Sunday.

Bucknell All-Time vs. Weekend Opponents
Bucknell vs. George Washington: 46-16 (Bison have won four consecutive matchups)
Bucknell vs. Johns Hopkins: 43-22 (Defeated Johns Hopkins 11-5 at the CWPA Championship last season)

Bucknell in National Rankings in 2015
Preseason: t-No. 19
Sept. 9: No. 17
Sept. 16: No. 17
Sept. 23: No. 15

Bucknell's Weekly Awards in 2015
CWPA Player of the Week: Stefan Aleksic (Sept. 17)