Bucknell Men's Water Polo Travels to Julian Fraser Memorial This Weekend

Saturday, October 23

Santa Clara, Calif.

2:10 p.m. (ET)

Bucknell University

Santa Clara

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Bucknell Men's Water Polo Travels to Julian Fraser Memorial This Weekend

10/20/2021 9:36:00 AM | Men's Water Polo

**10/23 UPDATE: Due to travel issues, Bucknell will not be participating in the tournament.**

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell University men's water polo team will take a break from MAWPC competition when it travels to Santa Clara, Calif. for four games on October 23-24.

Bucknell is coming off a 2-1 weekend in MAWPC play, falling to Navy by a one-goal margin, but taking wins over George Washington and Johns Hopkins to improve to fourth in the latest MAWPC-East standings through its first seven games.

This weekend's tournament features 13 teams from all across the United States and will take place on the campuses of both Santa Clara and San Jose State. All four of Bucknell's contests will be played on the campus of Santa Clara.

Tournament Info

Bucknell Schedule

Saturday, October 23, 2:10 p.m. (ET) Bucknell (8-9, 3-4 MAWPC-East) at Santa Clara (10-8, 1-3 WWPA)
Saturday, October 23, 6:10 p.m. (ET) Bucknell (8-9, 3-4 MAWPC-East) vs. Biola (1-14, 0-6 WWPA)
Sunday, October 24, 12:20 p.m. (ET) Bucknell (8-9, 3-4 MAWPC-East vs. Air Force (16-3, 6-0 WWPA)
Sunday , October 24, 4:20 p.m. (ET) Bucknell (8-9, 3-4 MAWPC-East vs. UC Santa Barbara (15-7, 0-2 GCC)

Bucknell moved into a tie for third in the MAWPC-East standings with a 2-1 weekend, and currently carries a 3-4 conference record with five games remaining in the schedule.
Bucknell avenged an earlier loss to George Washington in Lewisburg on September 26, scoring 14 goals in the win over the Colonials on Saturday to start the weekend.
Bucknell staved off a furious George Washington comeback in the win, as George Washington pulled within one after trailing by as many as four with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Doruk Ozar provided the insurance goal needed for Bucknell, as his goal with just over two minutes to play helped Bucknell preserve the win. Ozar added one more goal as George Washington pulled its goalkeeper late, as all four of the native of Istanbul, Turkey's goals came in the second half.
Adrien Touzot had a big weekend for the Bison in the cage, making 12 saves against the Colonials, and a season-best 14 saves in a win over Johns Hopkins on Sunday. The 14 saves are six shy of the Beirut, Lebanon native's personal-best mark of 20 that he set against Wagner on September 22, 2019.
Touzot has started all 17 of Bucknell's games in goal this year, and has now started 47 consecutive games for the Bison in the cage after making his first collegiate start on September 21, 2019 against Mercyhurst.
Bucknell's one-goal defeat to Navy was its second of the season after the Bison fell to UC Davis, also in Annapolis, 14-13 at the Navy Open in September. The Bison also edged St. Francis Brooklyn earlier this year by one goal after Jack Lewis scored the game-winning goal at the final horn on September 19.
Bucknell, dating back to the 2018 season, is 9-10 in games decided by one goal. However, two of those wins came in postseason games, including a 12-11 win over Fordham in the MAWPC semifinals in 2018, and a 13-12 win over Harvard in the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
Bucknell's 18 goals in the win over Johns Hopkins tied its season high set on September 19 against Salem, an 18-11 win. The nine-goal margin of victory over the Blue Jays was Bucknell's largest this season. Bucknell has scored double-digit goals in 12 of its 17 games, as well as each of its past three outings.
Lewis and Andu Vlasceanu each netted four times for Bucknell in the win, while Josh Yardley added three goals and three assists. Six Bison registered three or more points in the win.
Bucknell will return to the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament for the first time since 2019, in which the Bison went 1-3, with two of those opponents (No. 11 Loyola Marymount and No. 13 San Jose State) ranked in the top 15.
The Bison will meet Biola for the first time in program history on Saturday.
Bucknell owns a winning record against Air Force in the all-time series (8-6), with the two teams last meeting in 2018. Bucknell took the win in that game, 16-13, also at Santa Clara. Jack Lewis appeared for the Bison in that game, scoring a goal and adding an assist. Jack Otto also made six saves for the Bison in the victory. The Bison have won the last three meetings against the Falcons dating back to 2014.
Bucknell has never defeated UC Santa Barbara in four all-time matchups.
The Bison are 6-8 in 14 all-time meetings against Santa Clara, with the two teams last meeting on October 22, 2017. Bucknell took the win in that game, winning 10-9 in overtime. Jeff Hagen's goal with one second remaining in regulation sent the game into overtime, before Rade Joksimovic scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
After the Julian Fraser Memorial, Bucknell will close out the regular season with five MAWPC contests. Bucknell will play Mount St. Mary's at home on Saturday, October 30, before traveling to MAWPC-East-leading Fordham for an important game in the conference standings on Sunday, October 31. The contest on October 30 against the Mount will be Senior Day at Kinney Natatorium.