Bucknell University Athletics
Joksimovic Sweeps Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Weekly Honors
9/20/2016 3:56:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
LEWISBURG, Pa. – One day after being named the Bison Athlete of the Week, Bucknell men's water polo freshman Rade Joksimovic (Novi sad, Serbia/Gimnazija Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj) swept the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference weekly awards on Tuesday. He earned Player, Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week, becoming the first men's athlete in the history of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference and the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) to snag all three major honors in one week.
Joksimovic joined select company in winning all three awards in one week as the only other person to do it is Princeton's Ashleigh Johnson on the women's side. She was the starting goalie on the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic Water Polo Team at the 2016 Games in Rio.
Joksimovic has now won five Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference weekly awards this season. He was named Player and Rookie of the Week after the opening weekend of the season two weeks ago.
This past weekend at the Bison Invitational Joksimovic totaled 23 goals, seven assists, 22 steals and four ejections drawn in the first four home games of his Bison career.
Joksimovic started the weekend off with eight goals and six assists in a 24-8 win over Salem International. The eight goals were the most by a Bison since 2012, and the 14 points marked the first time a Bucknell player reached double figures in points since at least 2001.
The strong performances continued throughout the weekend. After scoring four goals in a convincing win against Washington & Jefferson on Saturday afternoon, Joksimovic added a team-high five goals in a win over Mercyhurst on Saturday evening.
The weekend concluded Sunday morning when Joksimovic netted six of Bucknell's nine goals in a comeback on-goal win over No. 14 Brown. He was credited with the assist on Tommy Stupp's game-winning goal with 2:31 to play in the fourth quarter that clinched the perfect weekend.
Joksimovic scored more than 35 percent of the team's 65 goals at the Bison Invitational and has 33 of the squad's 94 goals on the season. He leads the team in goals (33), assists (8), points (41) and steals (24).
Bucknell (6-1) was ranked 15th nationally last week and at 6-1 is off to its best start since 2013. With the four wins over the weekend, the Bison improved to 80-34 all-time at Kinney Natatorium.
Joksimovic will lead Bucknell into the beginning of league play this coming weekend. The Bison will play at Navy (Saturday), George Washington (Sunday) and Johns Hopkins (Sunday).
