Men's Water Polo Travels to California for Julian Fraser Memorial

Friday, October 23

Santa Clara, Calif.

1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT

Bucknell University

Saint Mary's

Photo by: Colin Singleton

10/21/2026 2:29:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

LEWISBURG, Pa.- Bucknell men's water polo (11-9) concludes its grueling non-conference schedule by participating at this weekend's Julian Fraser Memorial. The tournament pits the Bison against some of the toughest teams in California, including a rubber match with St. Mary's. The Orange & Blue seek to rebound after dropping two MAWPC matches to #5 Fordham and Wagner. All four games will have live stats on the FOSH. Santa Clara, the tournament's host, will stream the games versus St. Mary's, Pomona-Pitzer, and Pacific on its website.

On Oct. 23, Bucknell faces (RV) St. Mary's at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. The following day sees the Bison play Pomona-Pitzer at 2:40 p.m. ET/11:40 a.m. PT and #13 Pacific at 6:40 p.m. ET/3:40 p.m. ET. The schedule concludes on Oct. 25 against #15 San Jose State at 12:20 p.m. ET/9:20 a.m. PT.

The Opening Sprint
What: Julian Fraser Memorial
Where: Sullivan Aquatic Center (Santa Clara, Calif.) | SRAC (San Jose, Calif.)
When: October 23-25
Watch: St. Mary's | Pomona-Pitzer | Pacific

The Inside "Herd" on the Bison

The 2026 conference schedule, which was going swimmingly for Bucknell, hit a snag in the Big Apple. #5 Fordham expectedly defeated the Bison 19-5 but Wagner upset the Orange & Blue 15-14 and sent Bucknell to a 6-4 conference record. The Bison have two conference games, both in hostile waters, remaining in George Washington and Navy.
Bucknell has already faced St. Mary's twice in 2026. The Gaels won the first matchup 12-9 before Bucknell evened the situation with a 14-9 triumph. The Bison will attempt to pull off the rubber match win.
The Bison were ranked #20 in last week's ACWPC Poll.
The Orange & Blue were picked third in the MAWPC Preseason Poll.
Tyler Hedblad leads Bucknell with 54 goals, followed by Jack Dillane with 40, Pier Giorgio Cicchetti has banked 38, and Ori Raz and Jovan Udovicic have each scored 25 times.
Goalkeeper David Dumitru has recorded 151 saves.
Hedblad, who scored seven goals against Wagner, moved into the Bison's points lead, totaling 121 on 54 goals and 13 assists.

Opposition Overview

St. Mary's fell out of the latest edition of the CWPA Poll but it is still receiving votes. The Gaels are 6-10 overall and 1-2 in WCC action. Half of their opponents have been ranked. Leo Hachem leads the Gaels with 36 goals.
Pomona-Pitzer is 11-10 overall and 4-0 in the SCIAC. The Sagehens rank first in the Division III poll. They are not afraid to challenge Division I foes, going 2-7 this year with wins over Air Force and Cal State Fullerton. Indigo Lee paces the team with 34 goals.
Pacific, ranked #13 in the latest CWPA Poll, is a misleading 6-8 overall and 2-2 in the WCC. The Tigers have played a brutal schedule with 12 ranked foes. Pacific is 4-8 against that gauntlet, including a golden goal loss to #5 Fordham and a 13-11 defeat to defending national champion UCLA. They haven't played a non-ranked opponent (MIT) since August 30. Both the Tigers and their opponents have scored 173 goals. Borisz Kasa-Gal leads the squad with 40 tallies.
San Jose State, slotted at #15 in the newest CWPA Poll, sits at 7-11 overall and 1-3 in the WCC. The Spartans are 4-11 in ranked matchups and have defeated their three unranked opponents by a margin of 60-26. Sam Keightley is the leading scorer with 43 goals, as of Oct. 9.

Up Next

Bucknell travels to George Washington and Navy on Nov. 1 to conclude regular season and MAWPC play.