Nov. 4, 2007
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The 10th-ranked Navy water polo shook off a pesky Johns Hopkins, 11-7, to win its third straight CWPA Southern Division Tournament title on Sunday afternoon in Annapolis. The win moves Navy's record to 26-5 overall and more importantly, will give the Mids the top overall seed in the CWPA Eastern Championships in two weeks in Boston. The winner of the Eastern Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
The Mids led 2-0 after the first quarter and stretched the lead to 5-2 at halftime. However, the Bluejays rallied to tie the game at 5-5 by scoring the first three goals of the second half in a two-minute span. The Hopkins' run was countered by a three-goal Navy run, sparked by senior Aaron Recko, who scored two of the three goals to give Navy an 8-5 cushion after three quarters. Navy then outscored the Jays, 3-2, in the fourth quarter for the 11-7 victory.
Recko had a monster game for the Mids, scoring a season-best seven goals while winning all four sprints. Bram Arnold, Chuck Baker, Andrew Bingham and Marek Malik also scored for Navy. George Naughton made 12 saves in goal, while Steve Craney added one stop.
"It was the Aaron Recko show today. He had a phenomenal game for us," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "Marek Malik also played very well on the defensive end for us. It's always great to win Southerns and it was nice to send our seniors off on a high note in their final home game, in front of their parents and fans. They have meant a lot to this program and are hoping to add a couple of more wins in the next month or so."
Navy has now won 16 games in a row, dating back to Sept. 16. The 16-game streak is tied for the second-longest in school history behind just a 19-game streak in 1994. Meanwhile, Navy's 26 wins this year are also tied for the second most in school history, behind the 1986 team that went 28-8. Lastly, this year's team owns an. 839 winning percentage, also second behind the 1983 team's winning percentage of .897 (26-3).
The Mids improved to 47-4 all-time in the Southern Division Tournament, and have now won 10 games in a row in the tournament, winning the last three titles. Just one team, Princeton, has defeated Navy during the Southern Division Tournament.
Navy will be off until the CWPA Eastern Championships on Nov. 16-18, in Cambridge, Mass.
Tournament Box scores
Game 1 1 2 3 4 F
Navy 3 2 3 0 8
Salem International 0 1 3 2 6
Navy scoring: Kyle McGhie, Jason Peck, Robert Newman, Ryan Shipley, Garrett Griffin, Chris Vahey, Stephen Hicks, Jordan Carter, 1 each
Salem scoring: Frank Nichols 4, Jose Florentino, Hector Sanchez
Game 2 1 2 3 4 F
Princeton 2 5 1 1 9
Gannon 1 0 4 1 6
Princeton scoring: Zach Beckmann 3, Mark Zalewski 2, Jeff Cole, Gregor Horstmeyer, Chris Parolin 1 each.
Gannon scoring: Paul Musille 4, Richie DiLoreto, Kyle Kelleran 1 each.
Game 3 1 2 3 4 F
Bucknell 9 4 2 2 17
Washington & Jefferson 0 0 1 2 3
Bucknell scoring: Anderson 4, Rechel 2, Roslyn 2, Lampley 2, Hyden, Masterson, Heiber, Ang, Kalter, O'Keefe, Stupp 1 each.
Washington and Jefferson scoring: Johnson 2, Hamilton 1.
Game 4 1 2 3 4 F
Johns Hopkins 5 3 4 3 15
Penn State Behrend 1 1 1 1 4
Johns Hopkins scoring: McCreery 4, Aguilera 2, Gonzalez 2, Kratz 2, gertridge, Davis, Sauerhoff, Sieber, Bond, Rochester 1 each.
Penn State Behrend scoring: Soto 3, Bacon 1.
Game 5 1 2 3 4 F
Princeton 3 2 2 0 7
Salem International 0 1 0 1 2
Princeton scoring: Hale 2, Bencomo-Jasso, Fyfe, Grauer, Hvidt, Schulam 1 each.
Salem International scoring: Sanchez, Nichols 1 each.
Game 6 1 2 3 4 F
Navy 5 5 4 2 16
Gannon 1 2 1 4 8
Navy scoring: Bingham 3, Arnold 2, Baker 2, Zoellick 2, Bell 2, Hill, Recko, Mieners, Baldwin, Shipley 1 each.
Gannon scoring: Musille 3, Krakowski, Dusckas, DiLoreto, mack, Naranjo 1 each
Game 7 1 2 3 4 F
George Washington 4 3 4 4 15
Washington & Jefferson 1 5 3 1 10
George Washington scoring: Eddy 4, Wright 3, Zenk, Canto, Freedman 2 each, Shev, Gall 1 each.
Washington & Jefferson scoring: Werner, Johnson, Hamilton, Whittam, Adams 2 each.
Game 8 1 2 3 4 F
Mercyhurst 4 2 4 3 13
Penn State Behrend 0 0 2 2 4
Mercyhurst scoring: Moggridge 4, Bogucki 2, Perry 2, Calderon 2, McIlwaine, Colin, Schonoff 1 each.
Penn State Behrend scoring: Benstein 2, Spoto, Meehan 1 each.
Game 9 1 2 3 4 F
Navy 3 3 3 2 11
Princeton 1 0 2 2 5
Navy scoring: Hill 3, Mulvey 3, Bingham 2, Recko 2, Gardiner 1.
Princeton scoring: Beckman 3, Colgan, Zalewski 1 each.
Game 10 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon 2 2 1 3 8
Salem International 0 0 0 0 0
Gannon scoring: Kelleran, Evanoff, Bullion 2 each, Stedding, Villegas 1 each.
Game 11 1 2 3 4 F
George Washington 3 1 1 1 6
Bucknell 0 1 2 1 4
George Washigton scoring: Eddy 2, Zenk, Wright, Shev, Yeager 1 each
Bucknell scoring: Lampley 2, Hyden, Rechel 1 each.
Game 12 1 2 3 4 F
Johns Hopkins 3 3 2 4 12
Mercyhurst 2 1 3 3 9
Johns Hopkins scoring:
Mercyhurst scoring: Perry 4, Schonoff 4, Riordan 1.
Johns Hopkins scoring: Gertridge 3, McCreery 3, Davis 2, Sauerhoff, Jankiewicz, Kratz, Hemmerle 1 each.
Game 13 Winner advances to Championship game, loser is 3rd place and qualifies for Easterns
1 2 3 4 F
Johns Hopkins 3 2 2 0 7
George Washington 4 0 1 1 6
Game 14 Winner advances to 4th place game, loser is 6th place
1 2 3 4 F
Bucknell 4 4 3 4 15
Mercyhurst 2 2 1 2 7
Bucknell scoring: Hyden 5, Anderson 2, Roslyn 2, Rechel, Anderson, Kratz, Ang, O'Keefe, Nelson, Lampley 1 each.
Mercyhurst scoring: Perry 3, Riordan, Calderon, Coin, Schonoff 1 each.
Game 15 1 2 3 4 F
Washington & Jefferson 6 1 3 1 11
Penn State Behrend 3 2 1 3 9
Washingotn & Jefferson scoring: Johnson 3, Whittam 3, Hamilton 2, Werner, Krause 1 each.
Penn State Behrend scoring:
Game 16 (1st-2nd place) Both teams qualify for Easterns
1 2 3 4 F
Navy 2 3 3 3 11
Johns Hopkins 0 203 2 7
Navy scoring: Recko 7, Arnold, Bingham, Baker, Malik 1 each.
Johns Hopkins scoring: McCreery 3, Rochester 2, Gertridge, Davis, 1 each.
Game 17 2:00pm (4th-5th place) Winner qualifies for Easterns
1 2 3 4 F
Bucknell 4 1 2 2 9
Princeton 2 2 1 3 8
Bucknell scoring: Hyden 2, Mastreson 2, Rechel 2, Lampley 2, Sunday 1.
Princeton scoring: Hortsmeyer 2, Edmunds 2, Beckman 2, Hudnall, Cole 1 each.
Game 18 3:15pm (7th-8th place)
1 2 3 4 F
Gannon 5 2 4 2 13
Washington & Jefferson 3 3 3 2 11
Gannon scoring: Mosille 3, Di Loreto 3, Dusckas 2, Simonoff 2, Naranjo 2, Espinet 1.
Washington & Jefferson scoring: Hamilton 4, Johnson 3, Werner 3, Krause, Whittam 1 each.
Final Standings:
1. Navy Will be #1 seed at Easterns
2. Johns Hopkins Will be #3 seed at Easterns
3. George Washington Will be #5 seed at Easterns
4. Bucknell Will be #7 seed at Easterns
5. Princeton
6. Mercyhurst
7. Gannon
8. Washington & Jefferson
9. Penn State Behrend
10. Salem International
* Top 4 finishers qualify for CWPA Eastern Championship @Harvard University Nov. 16-18.
* Winner of Eastern Championship advances to NCAA Final Four Dec 1-2 @Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.
# GO NAVY #
