Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
MIT
Men's Water Polo Opens Season at Bruno Classic
8/29/2018 9:56:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
A SEASON PREVIEW IS INCLUDED BELOW THE BRUNO CLASSIC NOTES
Setting the Scene
What: Bruno Classic
When: Saturday, Sept. 1 to Sunday, Sept. 2
Where: Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center – Providence, R.I.
Tournament Central: BrownBears.com
Game One: MIT (0-0, 0-0 NWPC) vs. Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 MAWPC)
When: Saturday, Sept. 1 – 10:30 a.m.
Video: ESPN+ ($)
Game Two: Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 MAWPC) vs. Austin College (0-0, 0-0 MPSF)
When: Saturday, Sept. 1 – 2:15 p.m.
Video: ESPN+ ($)
Game Three: Brown (0-0, 0-0 NWPC) vs. Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 MAWPC)
When: Saturday, Sept. 1 – 6 p.m.
Video: ESPN+ ($)
Game Four: St. Francis Brooklyn (0-0, 0-0 NWPC) vs. Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 MAWPC)
When: Sunday, Sept. 2 – 9:15 a.m.
Video: ESPN+ ($)
Game Five: Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 MAWPC) vs. Pepperdine (0-0, 0-0 GCC)
When: Sunday, Sept. 2 – 2 p.m.
Video: ESPN+ ($)
Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell was slotted in a tie for 20th with Air Force and Wagner in the 2018 CWPA Preseason Poll.
• The Bison finished 2017 with a 19-12 (10-0 MAWPC) record. Bucknell captured its second-straight MAWPC East Region regular-season title behind its unbeaten mark.
• The Bison, who were the defending champions, ultimately took third at the 2017 MAWPC Championship after being upset by Wagner in the semifinals, 10-8.
• Bucknell went 8-0 at Kinney Natatorium a year ago. The Bison, who ride a 15-game home winning streak into their 41st season of competition, are 42-7 (.857) in their home pool since 2013.Â
• The Bison strung together the sixth-longest winning streak in program history from Sept. 16 to Oct. 14, 2017, emerging victorious in 11-straight contests.
• The Bison return their top three point producers from 2017 in Rade Joksimovic (106g-35a), Marko Djordjevic (50g-45a) and Cooper Dolan (36g-19a). They will have to replace goalkeeper Charlie Niehaus, who started all but one game since his sophomore year and graduated ranked second in career saves (837).
• The Bison return two of their four 2017 All-MAWPC selections in Joksimovic (1st team, Player of the Year) and Dolan (2nd team). They lost Niehaus (1st team) and Jeff Hagen (2nd team) to graduation.
• John McBride enters his eighth season as head coach with a 123-74 record. He won his 100th career game on Nov. 5, 2016, an 11-6 victory over Wagner that helped the Bison clinch their first MAWPC East Region regular-season title. He is the third Bison water polo coach to surpass the 100-win threshold.
• Joksimovic, a two-time All-American, enters his junior campaign with 325 career points (260g-65a), which places him 25 outside of 10th in school history. His goal total is already good for fourth, and he's on pace to join Scott Schulte (586), Jeff Hilk (334) and Garrin Kapecki (316) as the only Bison to reach the 300-goal threshold..
MIT at a Glance
• The Engineers begin their season against Bucknell at the Bruno Classic.
• In 2017, MIT posted a 9-19 (2-8 NWPC) record.
• Bucknell leads the all-time series with MIT, 17-1. The series dates back to 1978.
• The Bison and Engineers last met at the 2016 Bruno Classic in the season opener for both teams. Bucknell walked away a 15-8 victor.
Austin College at a Glance
• The Kangaroos begin their inaugural season against Brown at the Bruno Classic.
• This will be the first meeting between Bucknell and Austin College, which is based in Sherman, Texas.Â
Brown at a Glance
• The Bears begin their season against Austin College at the Bruno Classic.
• In 2017, Brown posted a 21-12 (5-5 NWPC) record. The Bears placed third at the NWPC Championship.
• Brown leads the all-time series with Bucknell, 32-25-2. The series dates back to 1977.
• Last season, the Bison edged the Bears, 6-4, at the Harvard Invitational.
St. Francis Brooklyn at a Glance
• The Terriers begin their season against Pepperdine at the Bruno Classic.
• In 2017, St. Francis Brooklyn posted a 13-14 (8-2 NWPC) record.
• St. Francis Brooklyn leads the all-time series with Bucknell, 33-7. The series dates back to 1992.
• Last season, the Terriers and Bison squared off three times. Bucknell took the Bruno Classic tilt, 12-11, while St. Francis Brooklyn won the next two meetings by 7-6 and 10-8 margins.
Pepperdine at a Glance
• The Waves begin their season against St. Francis Brooklyn at the Bruno Classic.
• In 2017, Pepperdine posted an 18-14 (2-3 GCC) record. The Waves placed fourth in the GCC Tournament following a heart-breaking triple-overtime loss to Long Beach State in the third-place game.
• Pepperdine leads the all-time series with Bucknell, 8-0. The series dates back to 1978.
• Last season, the Waves dispatched the Bison, 15-9, at the Bruno Classic. The teams were ranked No. 7 and No. 14 respectively at the time.
A Look Ahead
• After taking a week off, the Bison return to action by hosting the Bucknell Invitational from Saturday, Sept. 15 to Sunday, Sept. 16. They will face La Salle (Sept. 15, 11:15 a.m.), Washington & Jefferson (Sept. 15, 6:45 p.m.), Fordham (Sept. 16, 12:30 p.m.) and Salem International (Sept. 16, 6 p.m.).
Season Preview
The Bucknell men's water polo team has been among the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference's elite since the league was formed in 2016. And the two-time defending MAWPC East Division regular-season champions and 2016 MAWPC Tournament title winners are poised to continue their success this season.
"The season is always a building process," said head coach John McBride, who has led the Bison to a 19-1 MAWPC record. "Each game is an opportunity to improve so we're ready for the MAWPC Championships. Our expectation is to win our conference and make it to the NCAA Championships."
For Bucknell to accomplish its goals, Rade Joksimovic will have to be at his best. A two-time All-American and MAWPC East Division MVP, he became the third Bison to reach the 100-goal plateau in more than one season a year ago. He enters his junior campaign with 325 career points (260g-65a), which places him 25 outside of 10th in school history; his goal total is already good for fourth, and he's on pace to join Scott Schulte (586), Jeff Hilk (334) and Garrin Kapecki (316) as the only Bison to reach the 300-goal threshold.
"Rade's consistent," McBride said. "He's a good leader and has proven he can score goals. But he can't be our sole focus. Other guys also need to score goals so we're going to ask Rade to distribute the ball more. As long as he does better than he did last year and the year before, we'll have a shot to reach our goals."
Joksimovic is far from the only scoring threat on the 2018 roster. The Bison return their top three point producers from a year ago in Joksimovic (106g-35a), Marko Djordjevic (50g-45a) and Cooper Dolan (36g-19a). Djordjevic, a senior, has been a starter since his freshman year and currently boasts 185 career points (107g-78a).
"Marko is a solid player," McBride said. "He scores big goals, and he's great on defense. He's an emotional leader on the team. He's a big presence in the pool, and he's going to play a lot of minutes this year."
Dolan enjoyed a breakout sophomore year in 2017, capturing All-MAWPC Second Team and All-MAWPC Championship Second Team accolades. While his primary role is to mark opposing teams' centers, McBride expects him to increase his offensive production this season.
"Cooper is our anchor in the middle," McBride said. "He's the one who controls the centers for us. He's got a great shot because he's worked really hard on it. We expect a lot of production out of him."
Beyond Joksimovic, Djordjevic and Dolan, McBride believes Matt Blackwell, Cullen Jacuzzi and Logan Schofield will step up. Schofield will be taking the place of Jeff Hagen, a center who graduated ranked second among Bison in career ejections drawn (226), while Blackwell and Jacuzzi will be called on to bolster the attack.
One of Bucknell's biggest losses to graduation was goalkeeper Charlie Niehaus, who started all but one game since his sophomore year and left Lewisburg ranked second in career saves (837). And, for the first time in McBride's seven-year tenure as head coach, a freshman is projected to start in net: Jack Otto, a Libertyville (Ill.) High School product.
"Our expectation for Jack is that he improves every day," McBride said. "He's going to have a great defense in front of him, and that's going to help him gain confidence playing at the Division I level. He's going to have growing pains, as all freshman goalies do at this level, but we're excited to have him. He has a great attitude, he's very coachable and he wants to win. You can do a lot with that."
McBride said that, even though they need to break in a new goalkeeper, the Bison should remain as strong defensively as always.
"Our defense is strong," McBride said. "We spend a lot of time working on our defense. We're going to have to figure out our goalie's strengths and weaknesses in the cage and adjust our defense to what he's good at. If he's good in a press, we'll press more. If he's good in a zone, we'll zone more. We'll evaluate that during practices and our games early in the season and adjust accordingly as the season goes on."
