Women's Water Polo to Face Three Ranked Teams at This Weekend's Wolverine Invitational

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Having just competed in its first home matches of the season, the Bucknell women's water polo team will head out on the road again to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to participate in the Wolverine Invitational. Bucknell will face George Washington and No. 21 Long Beach State on Saturday, followed by No. 15 Loyola Marymount and No. 2 UCLA on Sunday.

The Bison (7-5) have won three of four games each of the past two weekend, but will face tougher competition this weekend with three of their four opponents being ranked nationally. Long Beach State has won three games in a row, while Loyola Marymount has played ranked opponents in each of its last 12 games. UCLA, ranked second in the country, holds an 11-2 record entering the invitational.

Bucknell holds a 36-19 advantage over George Washington in 55 meetings between the two squads, but have not been able to defeat Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, or UCLA in a combined 12 contests. Key performers from the recent Bison Invitational will need to continue their strong play for the Bison to change that.

At this past weekend's contests, the Bison defeated George Washington, Gannon and VMI by a combined score of 45-20, but fell to No. 20 Wagner 10-6. The 17-5 victory over Gannon marked the second-most goals scored by the Bison in a game this season.

Eleanor Marrs earned CWPA Co-Player of the Week honors for her performance last weekend. She scored 20 points on 10 goals and 10 assists to bring her team-leading total up to 50 points through 12 games.

Also contributing to the three wins last weekend were Emily Konishi and Hannah Sunday. Both scored seven goals, while Konishi tallied three assists and 11 steals. Sunday added five assists and 19 ejections drawn.

Marrs also leads the team in both goals (28) and assists (22) this season. Sunday's 19 ejections drawn added to her team-leading total of 54 this year, and Marrs and Colleen Barron have both surpassed the 20-steal plateau this season. Barron also went 7-for-11 on sprint attempts at the Bison Invitational, making her successful on 23 of 31 attempts on the year.

After the conclusion of the Wolverine Invitational, Bucknell will compete in its fifth straight Aztec Invitational in San Diego, California. The Bison will face off against UC San Diego and Chapman on Saturday (March 12), and will close the tournament against San Diego State on Sunday (March 13).

Wolverine Invitational Schedule
March 5: vs. George Washington, 11:30 a.m. & vs. Long Beach State, 6:20 p.m.
March 6: vs. Loyola Marymount, 8:20 a.m. & vs. UCLA, 4:40 p.m.

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