No. 15 Men's Water Polo Set to Play Three MAWPC Road Matches

Saturday, September 29

Washington, D.C

2:00 PM

Bucknell University

George Washington

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

No. 15 Men's Water Polo Set to Play Three MAWPC Road Matches

9/28/2018 11:15:00 AM | Men's Water Polo

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After taking a week off from competition, the No. 15 Bucknell men's water polo team returns to action in and around the nation's capital with three road contests at George Washington, Navy and Johns Hopkins.

Setting the Scene
Game One: No. 15 Bucknell (8-1, 2-0 MAWPC East) at George Washington (10-4, 2-1 MAWPC East)
When: Saturday, Sept. 29 – 2:00 p.m.
Watch: George Washington Water Polo on Facebook (Facebook Live)

Game Two: No. 15 Bucknell (8-1, 2-0 MAWPC East) at Navy (8-4, 2-1 MAWPC East)
When: Saturday, Sept. 29 – 7 p.m.
Watch: Patriot League Network

Game Three: No. 15 Bucknell (8-1, 2-0 MAWPC East) at Johns Hopkins (3-3, 0-0 MAWPC East)
When: Sunday, Sept. 30 – 12 p.m.
Watch: HopkinsSports.com

No. 15 Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison are currently 8-1 on the season. They have risen to as high as 14th in the CWPA Poll based on their 4-0 performance at the Bison Classic.
Bucknell will return to the pool this weekend after a week-long break from action and are currently 15^th in the poll after being jumped by California Baptist University in the latest edition of the Collegiate Water Polo Association Week 4 poll.
The Bison's only loss has come to Pepperdine, the 11^th ranked team in this week's poll.
Rade Joksimovic will be coming off of a season-high 14 point performance against Salem International on Sept. 16. Joksimovic also posted a season-best eight assists as the Bison defeated the Tigers 22-11, the third time Bucknell has scored over 20 goals in its last four games.
The four-game performance was enough for Joksimovic to earn his second MAWPC Player of the Week award this season.
Joksimovic is now closing on 400 points for his career, currently sitting at 397 points on 301 goals and 96 assists.
Marko Djordjevic is also closing in on 100 assists, with 97 career helpers to his name.
Goalkeeper Jack Otto picked up a career-high six assists in Bucknell's win over Salem.
Six Bison have started all nine games throughout this season, Joksimovic, Djordjevic, Otto, Jared Stanley, Cooper Dolan, and Jack Lewis.
Joksimovic's big weekend vaulted him four spots in Bison career rankings during the Bison invitational. After entering the four-game stretch ninth with 361 career points, Joksimovic netted 17 goals and tallied 19 assists, moving him into fifth all-time behind Sean Tierney.
Joksimovic also surpassed the 300 career-goal mark, becoming only the fourth Bison ever to reach the milestone.
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-East) 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.
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's four wins at home during the 2018 season now extend their home winning streak to 19 games.
Joksimovic (41g-31a), Stanley (20g-12a) and Djordjevic (11g-19a) are Bucknell's top three point producers. Otto has made 79 saves through his first nine starts in the cage.

George Washington at a Glance

George Washington is hosting its first games at Charles E Smith Center this season, where the team went 3-2 a year ago.
The Colonials are off to a 10-4 start this season and have won two of their last three games heading into the matchup.
George Washington will play the Bison in back-to-back weeks; after Saturday's match, they make the trip to Lewisburg on Oct. 7 for a 12 p.m. game.
Bucknell currently holds a 53-15 all-time series edge on George Washington and has won four out of the last five matchups.
The Colonials have a balanced attack with leading goal scorer Andrew Mavis netting 31 goals to lead the team followed closely behind by Atakan Destici (29), and Andras Levai (28). Destici also leads the team in assists with 23.

Navy at a Glance

Navy is off to an 8-4 start with a 2-1 conference mark to start the season.
The Mids have won three in a row and five out of their last six matches overall.
Bobby Lee leads Navy in goals this season, reaching the 30-goal mark in Navy's 9-8 win over Fordham on Sept. 23. Isaac Salinas has contributed 22 goals and 17 assists to lead the Mids in points.
The Bison have taken five-straight games against Navy dating back to Nov. 21, 2015. However, the Mids hold an 81-27 advantage in the all-time series.

Johns Hopkins at a Glance

The Blue Jays are 3-3 on the season and will be making their home debut this weekend after opening the season with six neutral-site matches.
Johns Hopkins has lost two of its past three games but won its most recent matchup 20-12 vs. Iona on Sept. 8.
The Blue Jays attack is led by Jayden Kunwar, who has scored 19 goals this season. Emerson Sullivan has chipped in nine goals while Finn Banks and Nico Ivanov have eight goals each.
Bucknell owns a 48-24 advantage all-time against the Blue Jays, with the Bison emerging victorious in the last four matchups.

A Look Ahead