Nov. 17, 2016 LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Navy water polo team begins play at the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Championship tournament on Friday as the program looks to earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship. Hosted by Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa. at the Bison's Kinney Natatorium, eight teams will vie for the chance to be the first-ever champion of the newly formed conference. The action will run over three days beginning on Friday, Nov. 18 and culminating on Sunday, Nov. 20.
The Mids enter the tournament seeded sixth with a 7-16 record and 2-8 mark in MAWPC play. The team last played two weeks ago on Saturday, Nov. 5 with a home doubleheader versus Johns Hopkins and George Washington. The Mids defeated the Blue Jays, 14-13 before falling to the Colonials, 13-9. Both teams will again be on Navy's radar as Johns Hopkins is ranked third in the upcoming tournament, while George Washington is the second seed.
Mids in Postseason Play
In the CWPA Championship, the precursor to the current MAWPC Championship, Navy was the champion a league-high nine times with its most recent title coming in 2008. In Navy's 34 years of involvement in the event dating back to 1982, the team posted a 73-31 record and .702 winning percentage. Bucknell is the only program in the 2016 MAWPC field to have ever earned a CWPA Tournament title; the Bison won five titles.
Navy's Route to a Title
The Mids open championship play on Friday at 7:30 p.m. versus the third-seed, Johns Hopkins. This will be the third meeting of the year between the Mids and Blue Jays. Both teams won their respective home games as on Sept. 23 in Baltimore, the Blue Jays won 14-8 before the Mids were victorious 14-13 on Nov. 5.
The winner of the Navy-JHU matchup would move on to play the victor of the (2) George Washington/(7) Mercyhurst game on Saturday at 6:00 p.m., while the loser would fall into a consolation game that is to be played at 3:00 p.m. on the same day.
After two days of competition and eight games are complete, the finals will begin on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and culminate with the title game at 1:30 p.m.
The overall seeds for the CWPA Championship are as follows ... #1 Bucknell, #2 George Washington, #3 Johns Hopkins, #4 Fordham, #5 Wagner, #6 Navy, #7 Mercyhurst and #8 Connecticut College.
Navy Versus the Field
As members of the eastern division of the MAWPC, the Mids have played each of the top five seeds twice and recorded a 2-8 mark with victories over Wagner (13-7) and Johns Hopkins (14-13). Mercyhurst and Connecticut College competed this season as members of the MAWPC-West and did not face off in inter-divisional play with Navy in 2016.
Scouting the Opposition: First Round (JHU) and Second Round (w-Win: George Washington)
| Navy | Johns Hopkins
| (w-Win) Geo. Wash.
|
| MAWPC Seed | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Record | 7-16 | 4-17 | 13-10 |
| Last 5 games | 1-4 | 1-4 | 3-2 |
| Last game | L, Geo. Washington, 13-9 | L, Bucknell, 17-10 | W, Navy, 13-9 |
Top 3 Scorers
(By Points)
| David Huber: 54g, 12a
Jared Castillo: 36g, 5a
Taylor Peterson: 27g, 11a | Giorgio Cico: 51g, 26a
Josh Kurtz: 20g, 33a
Matt Fraser: 32g, 11a | Atakan Destici: 72g, 36a
Bogdan Petkovic: 46g, 40a
Pierce Deamer: 41g, 14a |
Most Steals
| Brendan Metcalf: 37 steals | Giorgio Cico: 32 steals | Atakan Destici: 74 steals |
| Leading Goalie | Ronan Williams: .450 SV % | John Wilson: .459 SV % | Matt Taylor: .516 SV % |
Quoting the Coach
Head Coach Mladen Stanicic on this weekend's tournament ...
"The most important weekend of 2016 season is upon us: the very first MAWPC Championship. Our first opponent is Johns Hopkins on Friday evening. There is no question that they are a quality team, as we split the regular season games with them. I expect a tough, competitive game. That is as far as we're thinking. One game at a time."
Price of Admission
Fans attending the MAWPC Championship can pay for either a three-day tournament pass ($25) or a one-day pass ($10). Senior citizens 65 and older, will be admitted at discounted prices of $10 (tournament pass) and $5 (one-day pass). All children 12 and under are free of charge.
Streaming Options
For fans unable to make the trip to Lewisburg, the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (Collegiate Water Polo Association), in conjunction with its streaming partner Stretch Internet, will provide live coverage of the 12-game championship on a pay-per-view basis. Fans can access the games through the CWPA Multimedia page or by clicking on the streaming link on the MAWPC Championship page. LINK
The league is offering the streaming to the league's fans at a cost of $10 per game or $25 for a weekend pass that allows viewers to watch every game from the comfort of their home or office.
Complete Schedule
All contests to be held at Bucknell's Kinney Natatorium
Friday, November 18, 2016
G1 - 3:00 PM - (1) Bucknell vs. (8) Connecticut College
G2 - 4:30 PM - (4) Fordham vs. (5) Wagner
G3 - 6:00 PM - (2) George Washington vs. (7) Mercyhurst
G4 - 7:30 PM - (3) Johns Hopkins vs. (6) Navy
Saturday, November 19, 2016
G5 - 1:30 PM - Loser G2 vs. Loser G1
G6 - 3:00 PM - Loser G4 vs. Loser G3
G7 - 4:30 PM - Winner G1 vs. Winner G2
G8 - 6:00 PM - Winner G3 vs. Winner G4
Sunday, November 20, 2016
7th Place - 9:00 AM - Loser G6 vs. Loser G5
5th Place - 10:30 AM - Winner G5 vs. Winner G6
3rd Place - 12:00 PM - Loser G8 vs. Loser G7
1st Place - 1:30 PM - Winner G7 vs. Winner G8
