Women's Water Polo Welcomes Mercyhurst to Kinney Natatorium Saturday at 1 p.m.

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Returning home for its final home match of the season is the Bucknell women's water polo team, which faces Mercyhurst on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Kinney Natatorium. The Bison will celebrate Senior Day before the game to honor the four seniors who have been part of 46 victories during their four years in the program: Katherine DeRuff, Eleanor Marrs, Martine McCarthy and Hannah Sunday.

The Bison (11-11) return home for only their fifth home contest of the season, having played in 10 road matches since the Bison Invitational back in February. The squad performed well in its only home competition this season, bringing a 3-1 mark at Kinney Natatorium into the weekend.

This will be the first matchup between Bucknell and Mercyhurst this season, and the first time these two teams have met in Lewisburg since the 2013 season opener. Bucknell holds a 13-1 all-time record over Mercyhurst, which includes a 10-game winning streak.

Last season, the Bison were victorious in both matchups with the Lakers, outscoring them by a combined 21-13 over the two games. Sunday totaled five goals between the games, while Shyla Lintz and Tegan Stanbach both added a goal in each contest.

This year, Mercyhurst holds a 5-9 record and snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over Penn State Behrend on Thursday evening. Although the Lakers have fared well at home, they have yet to win a road contest this season.

Before the Mercyhurst game, the Bison had recently played in their annual California trip, facing six teams in a span of six days. Bucknell went 3-3 during the trip, with the three losses all coming against ranked opponents.

The California trip started in San Diego at the Aztec Invitational. The Bison earned an 11-5 victory over Chapman, but dropped a pair of contests versus No. 11 UC San Diego and No. 20 San Diego State. After the invitational, the Bison secured two victories against Cal Lutheran and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, before taking a 7-1 loss against No. 21 Long Beach State.

Sunday led the team with 15 goals during the six-game trip, and Marrs totaled the most assists with 11. Eleven different Bison scored, while seven of them tallied at least three goals during the trip.

On the season, Marrs now has 87 points, as she reached the 250-point mark for her career. She is now sixth in assists and 10th in points all-time for Bison players. Sunday's 72 ejections drawn already rank seventh in program history for a single season, as she moves closer to her top ranking on the list of 120 back in 2014.

Head coach John McBride now has 61 wins throughout his career with the women's team, which ties him with John Abdou for second-most among Bison women's water polo coaches.

Following the Mercyhurst game, Bucknell will have a break before playing in its first CWPA contest, a 9:30 a.m. game against Hartwick in Washington, D.C., on April 9. The final seven games during the regular season are against CWPA competition.

Bucknell's Weekly Awards/Honors in 2016
CWPA Co-Player of the Week: Eleanor Marrs (March 3)