ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (14-12, 5-5 MAWPC) split a pair of games in a day-night doubleheader on Saturday, Nov. 10, at Scott Natatorium in Annapolis, Md. The Midshipmen opened the day with a 13-7 victory over Johns Hopkins (7-17, 2-10) before falling to George Washington (19-6, 9-3), 17-8.
 
"Today wasn't about winning and losing," head coach Luis Nicolao said. "Everyone got a chance to play today and we were able to recognize Frank (Francis Kim) as part of Senior Day. He has meant a lot to the team over the last four years and I am glad that he was able to start in his final home game. We are now done with the regular season and we have to look ahead to the conference tournament."
 
Offensively, 14 different Midshipmen scored points in the game with 12 different Mids netting goals. Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) led the way with six points (5g 1a), while Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) chipped in four points (2g 2a), Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.) added three (2g 1a), and Jake Haines (Ashburn, Va.), Crawford Smith (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Bobby Wall (San Mateo, Calif.), and Carson Miller (San Diego, Calif.) each added two points apiece.
 
Defensively, Navy used all four goalies on the day. Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) earned the victory, working three and a half quarters before giving way to Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) in the fourth. Game two saw senior Francis Kim (Houston, Texas) start his final home game of his Navy career, while Brandon Shields (Lake Forest, Calif.) closed out game.
 
Navy heads to the Bronx, N.Y. for the annual Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship on Friday, Nov. 16 through Sunday, Nov. 18, hosted by Fordham.
 
Game 1 Recap – Navy 13, Johns Hopkins 7
In game one, the Midshipmen jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.) opened the scoring with a goal off a Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) assist. Lee followed with a goal of his own to push the advantage to 2-0 for the Mids. Johns Hopkins answered with a 3-0 run to end the quarter and go ahead 3-2 after one quarter of play.
 
The second quarter saw the Blue Jays increase their advantage to 4-2. Reiff ended the 4-0 run with his second goal of the game, while Jake Haines (Ashburn, Va.) knotted the score at 4-4 with a goal. JHU regained the lead with a goal, but Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) quickly responded with a goal 20 seconds later. Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) put Navy in front 6-5, but Johns Hopkins answered a minute later. Salinas took a pass from Haines and buried it in the back of the net to put the Midshipmen in front 7-6.
 
In the third quarter, the Mids posted a shutout, blanking the Blue Jays and increasing their lead to 10-6. Salinas notched a pair of goals in the quarter to give the rookie four goals in the game. Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.) converted a pass from Reiff during the quarter as part of the Navy run.
 
The fourth quarter saw Navy add three goals to its advantage. Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) scored his first goal of the day to go up 11-6, and Jesse Hainze (Bellevue, Wash.) followed with a goal. John Bernhardt (Annapolis, Md.) closed out what would be a 7-0 run for the Midshipmen with a goal in front of the hometown crowd. Johns Hopkins scored a goal to end the 7-0 run and provide the final margin of 13-7.
 
Game 2 Recap – George Washington 17, Navy 8
In game two, Navy led 4-3 early in the second quarter before the game shifted to George Washington's favor with a 10-1 run to take control of the game.
 
The game started with a Salinas goal, but GW responded with a pair of goals to take its first lead. Jacobs answered the call with a goal off a Piecuch assist to tie the game at two. After a Colonial goal, Miller took a pass from Weggeland and backhanded past a defender to slip the ball under the goalie's arm for the goal to tie the game at 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Lee opened the second quarter with a goal to give the Midshipmen a 4-3 lead, but GW took control of the game with a 10-1 run to close out the second and third quarters. Wall scored in the third quarter to slow down the 9-0 run. Wall scored his second goal of the game to start the fourth quarter. Miller and Lowdon added scores in the fourth quarter, but Navy dropped a 17-8 decision.