Women's Water Polo Returns to Action With Three Games in Washington, D.C., This Weekend

LEWISBURG, Pa. – After a brief hiatus, the Bucknell women's water polo team will return to action with a trip to Washington, D.C., this weekend to face three conference opponents. Bucknell will go up against No. 21 Hartwick and Brown on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, and will round out the weekend versus George Washington at 10 a.m. on Sunday. The contest against George Washington will have a live video broadcast air on the A-10 Network.

This will be the first conference competition of the season for the Bison, who enter the weekend with a 12-11 record. Most recently, they defeated Mercyhurst 11-4 on March 26 during Senior Day. The victory pushed head coach John McBride's win total with the women's squad to 62, passing John Abdou for second-most among Bison women's water polo coaches.

In the match against the Lakers, the Bison used a four-goal third quarter to push the game out of reach. Eleanor Marrs and Hannah Sunday scored three goals each, while Marrs added three assists of her own.

Emily Konishi added two goals on the day, while Kendyl Johnson and Martine McCarthy contributed two points each. Manuela Herrera picked up the victory in net after shutting Mercyhurst out in the fourth quarter.

After the two-week break in action, Bucknell will be looking to start out the conference schedule strong. The Bison lost both contests to Hartwick and Brown a season ago, but were able to sweep George Washington in three games, including the final game at the CWPA Championship.

Throughout the program's history, Bucknell has had success versus George Washington, going 35-19. As for the other two squads, Brown holds a 16-7 mark over the Bison, including a current three-game win streak, while Hartwick has won 14 of 15 contests. The last Bison win over the Hawks came in 2005, a 12-10 triumph at the Bison Invitational.

Hartwick enters the weekend on a two-game losing streak and owns a 13-8 overall record (1-0 CWPA). Brown holds an 8-18 record (0-1 CWPA), and George Washington is 6-9 entering its first conference game. Hartwick defeated Brown 18-9 earlier in the season.

For the season, Marrs leads the Bison with 93 points (46 goals, 47 assists). Sunday has scored 51 goals and recorded 74 ejections drawn. Konishi and Emily Barron have both filled up the stat sheet as well; Konishi has 28 goals, 20 assists, and 25 steals, while Barron has added 24 goals and 30 steals, and is 32-for-49 on sprint attempts.

Recently, Shyla Lintz has been playing with consistency, recording at least one ejection drawn in each of her past seven games off the bench. Marrs has completed an impressive feat by tallying at least two goals and two assists in 10 of her past 17 games, and Sunday has scored at least three goals in five of the last six contests.

Following the George Washington match, Bucknell will have one weekend of action left before the CWPA Championship begins on April 29. Next weekend, the Bison travel to Princeton, New Jersey, to face Michigan, Harvard, Indiana, and Princeton, all of whom are ranked nationally this week.

Bucknell's Weekly Awards/Honors in 2016
CWPA Player of the Week: Eleanor Marrs (March 3, March 31)