Women's Water Polo Set for 2019 Season Opener at Bruno Classic

Saturday, February 2

Providence, R.I.

8:00 a.m.

Bucknell University

Siena

Women's Water Polo Set for 2019 Season Opener at Bruno Classic

1/31/2019 3:47:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell University women's water polo team will commence its 2019 season at the Bruno Classic in Providence, R.I. for the fourth consecutive season on Saturday, Feb. 2. The Bison will play four games over the weekend, including a three-game stretch all day Saturday.

Tournament Central

SETTING THE SCENE
What: Bruno Classic
When: Saturday, Feb. 2, - Sunday Feb. 3
Where: Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center Providence, R.I.

Game One: Siena (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 CWPA).
When: Saturday, Feb 2-- 8 a.m.
Video: ESPN+ ($)

Game Two: La Salle (0-0, 0-0 MAAC), vs. Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 CWPA)
When: Saturday, Feb. 2, 2:15 p.m.
Video: ESPN+ ($)

Game Three: Marist (2-2, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 CWPA)
When: Saturday, Feb. 2, 7:15 p.m.
Video: ESPN+ ($)

Game Four: Wagner (1-3, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 CWPA)
When: Sunday, Feb. 3, 11:30 a.m.
Video: ESPN+ ($)

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell was picked 23^rd in the CWPA National Preseason Poll before dropping out after being inactive through the first two weeks of the season.
Bucknell finished 2018 with a record of 16-18 overall and a 3-5 mark in CWPA play.
The Bison had eight losses that were decided by three goals or less last season.
Included in those losses was a narrow 5-4 loss to Indiana in the opening round of the CWPA Championships.
Bucknell will have to replace goalkeeper Manuela Herrera, who started 82 games in the cage over her four-year career. The Bison will also have to replace the 247 combined goals from Colleen Barron and Marta Considine.
The Bison finished 7-1 a season ago at Kinney Natatorium, and have posted a .500 or better record at home each season since 2012.
Head Coach John McBride needs just two wins at the helm of the program to become the third coach to ever win 100 games at Bucknell for two different programs. Only John Zeigler (M/W water polo) and Dick Russell (Men's water polo, men's swimming) have managed to reach the 100 win mark for two different Bucknell programs.
The Bison return leading point-scorer Emily Konishi, who was second the team in goals (41) and first on the team in assists (55). Konishi was one of only three players who played and started all 34 games for the Bison last season.
Konishi's 263 career points to date are the ninth most in school history entering her senior season. She is also currently second in career assists with 145.
Bucknell also returns last year's leading goal scorer in sophomore Ally Furano, who had a strong freshman campaign for the Orange and Blue.
Also returning for the Bison is Kali Hyham, who scored 38 goals and had nine assists in her freshman season. Hyham also earned Second Team All-Tournament at the CWPA Championship.

Siena at a Glance

Bucknell has never lost to Siena, posting a 10-0 all-time record.
The Saints will also make their season debut against Bucknell.
Emily Konishi scored two goals and dished out four assists in an 11-4 Bison win last season.
The Saints were whistled for 11 ejections in last year's meeting.

La Salle at a Glance

The Bison are meeting the Explorers for the first time in history on Saturday, with La Salle beginning women's water polo competition in 2017.
The Explorers finished 0-18 last season

Marist at a Glance

Bucknell owns a 12-5 record all-time against the Red Foxes
The Bison lost a close one last season to 7-6 to Marist, ranked 25th at the time.
Kali Hyham scored one goal and had two assists as the Bison nearly turned around a 5-1 halftime deficit.

Wagner at a Glance

Bucknell holds a 12-8 advantage over the Seahawks in the all-time series.
The Bison fell in both matchups against Wagner last season, falling 13-10 at the Bruno Classic last year and dropping an 11-5 decision on Feb. 18 at the Princeton Invite.
Ally Furano had five goals between the two matchups last season.

Season Preview
Although the Bison won three out of their final four games to end the 2018 season, Head Coach John McBride believes that his team will have a different look to start the 2019 campaign.

"It's a new team this season," McBride said. "We have a new freshman class. The girls are disappointed in the result against Indiana in the tournament last year, but they are confident this year that they can be in that championship game."

Although the Bison start the season this coming weekend, McBride said his team is more concerned with playing its best water polo towards the end of the season.

"They understand the process, they understand it's a slow process," McBride said. "As much as we would like to win games in February, we would much rather win the games in April."

The Bison will begin their home campaign at Kinney Natatorium at the Bucknell Invitational vs. Salem on Feb. 9, and will play three more home matches against Siena, Wagner, and La Salle over the weekend in Lewisburg.

Bucknell will not return to Kinney Natatorium for over two months after the tournament, when it hosts Saint Francis (Pa), Michigan, and Princeton in April to close out the regular season conference schedule.

"The girls like playing at home," McBride said. "In women's water polo on the east coast we don't always get the chance to do that other than our invite. It's always nice to sleep in your own bed, eat your own food."

Although the Bison will play the majority of their games on the road or at neutral sites, McBride is confident in his team's ability to adjust and adapt to any environment.

"These girls are tough," McBride said. "They'll play anywhere. At home, on the road, it doesn't matter. They will show up and be ready to go."

Last year's leader in points, senior Emily Konishi, will figure to have another year in a prominent role for the Bison, but her role may be a little different than what she was used to in her past seasons at Bucknell.

"Konishi will be very important for us," McBride said. "Her role is changing completely this year so we will see how that goes. She primarily played on the right side of the pool in seasons past, and will now make the transition to the left side. It requires quite a different skill set, but it was at her own request and she is more than capable of adjusting."

"I believe Konishi and Ally Furano can be a deadly combination on that side of the pool."

McBride added that on the left side of the pool, Konishi will become more of a shooter and less of a distributor.

Ally Furano, who enjoyed a solid freshman campaign in the pool for the Bison, will look to play an even bigger part for the Bison in 2019.

"I expect Ally to keep growing into her role, she's continuing to learn, it's a constant learning process," said McBride. "We expect her to make some rookie mistakes, but we will rely on her a lot to be a shooter from the outside. We believe that she embraces the pressure and is looking forward to the challenge."

Kali Hyham is another freshman who came into her own last season at the center spot although McBride said there was a bit of an adjustment process at first.

"Kali wasn't happy, but she did it. She had success, she had tremendous success for us in that role."

"Now when I ask to see if she would like to move back to the outside, she said no, I would rather stay as a center," said McBride. "She didn't realize how much fun it was.   She'll be our primary center, with two freshmen, Larissa Hodzic and Rachel Craig, and junior Katie Jo Nedrow providing depth at the position."

Completing the freshman triumvirate for the 2019 roster is Paige Furano, the younger sister of Ally Furano.

In goal, the Bison will have to replace Manuela Herrera, who started 82 games over her collegiate career for the Orange and Blue. However, McBride believes that freshman Georgia Lewis is capable of stepping into the cage on day one.

"Georgia is very talented and very athletic," said McBride. "She may be a little overwhelmed at first, but once she settles in and goes through the fundamental training, she will be good for us. She has a great attitude and a great work ethic, and we believe that she will have a successful career for us."

Junior Hayley Pogue is also expected to provide depth at the goalkeeper position as well as competition.

Also returning for the Bison to contribute in attack are experienced juniors Nina Benson (19 G, 12 A), and Gigi Rojahn (11 G, 14 A)

Senior Sarah Mooney will also provide experience as a utility after she played in 33 games last season while contributing 14 goals, ten assists, and adding 23 steals. Fellow seniors Eliza Romeyn (13 appearances in 2018) and Chelsea Scuderi (eight appearances), and Regina Younger (five appearances) will also provide valuable experience to McBride's young squad.

Sophomores Molly Teresi (11 appearances, six goals), Marcela Herrera (17 appearances, four goals), and Tatym Racz will also look to play a bigger role in 2019.

In this year's schedule, the Bison will play 33 regular-season games, several more than last season's total. McBride said he believes that his young team will need to get all the minutes they can in order to gain valuable experience going forward.

"We need to get beat up a little more in order for our girls to carry the experience into the final week of the season," said McBride. "I don't know how we will do against some of these better teams, but what I do know is that we will be ready at the end of the year and we will be a tough group."