Bucknell University Athletics
Three Bison Named All-Conference, Joksimovic Recognized as Conference Player and Rookie of the Year
11/18/2016 10:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell freshman Rade Joksimovic (Novi sad, Serbia/Gimnazija Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj) became the first East Coast player to earn both Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season as he was honored with those awards this week when the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference East Region announced its all-conference teams. Joksimovic also earned First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference honors and was one of three Bison honored as Sean Daley (Mechancisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and Charlie Niehaus (Los Altos, Calif./Mountain View) were second-team selections.
Joksimovic is Bucknell's first conference player of the year since Brian Barron was the 2012 CWPA Southern Division Player of the Year. He is the third person to win a conference Rookie of the Year award, following Richie Hyden (2007) and Grant Curry (2014), who earned the honor in the CWPA Southern Division.
A winner of 13 weekly awards this season, Joksimovic has put up some impressive numbers in his first collegiate campaign. He leads the team in goals (124), points (151) and sprints won (19). He has also totaled 60 steals and 29 ejections drawn to rank among the team leaders in both categories.
Joksimovic ranks fourth on Bucknell's single-season goals list, trailing only three different totals by Hall-of-Famer Scott Schulte. He has scored at least one goal in every game this season and has posted double figures in goals on two occasions. Joksimovic has scored at least five goals on 15 different occasions.
Joksimovic is just five points shy of joining the program's single-season top-10 list for points, a ledger no Bison has cracked since 1987.
Daley, a senior, is a three-year starter who is in the midst of his best season. He has registered 24 goals and a team-high 55 assists to rank second on the squad in points (79). His career-high 65 steals rank sixth on Bucknell's single-season list.
An Honorable Mention All-American and Second Team All-CWPA Southern Division selection last year, Daley ranks fifth in program history with 175 career assists and 61 career sprints won. He is seventh on the all-time steals list with 145.
Niehaus, a junior, is a two-year starter in goal. He has started all 24 games this year and has 242 saves and a career-best .555 save percentage. He now ranks eighth in program history with 510 career saves. This is his first career all-conference honor, and he is the first Bison goalie to earn all-conference recognition since Keegan Williams in 2014.
Bucknell's all-conference selections will help lead the Bison at this weekend's Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship. Top-seeded Bucknell opens the three-day event at 3 p.m. on Friday against eighth-seeded Connecticut College. The 12-game event is taking place at Kinney Natatorium.
