ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (14-12, 6-6 MAWPC) travels to the Bronx, N.Y. for the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Tournament this weekend at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center on the campus of Fordham University. The Midshipmen, who tied for fourth in the league standings, will be the No. 5 seed and take on the host Rams (15-14, 6-6) on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
 
MAWPC Tournament Information
For fans making the trip to Fordham for the championship weekend, general admission ticket prices are $10 per day and $25 for a weekend pass to the games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Fordham faculty, staff, administration and students, along with senior citizens, receive a discounted rate of $5 per day and $12 for a weekend pass. Parking in the Fordham garage is $15.
 
Fans will enter Lombardi Center by the following roadway between the Rose Hill Gym and Jack Coffey Field and go left behind the Rose Hill Gym. Entry admissions will only be through the glass doors underneath the bridge that connects the Rose Hill Gym to Lombardi Center. Fans will not be allowed into Lombardi Center through the bridge entrance. (This is to avoid any confusion between those attending water polo matches versus those attending basketball games)
 
If you're unable to attend in-person, fans will be able to follow all the action online as the MAWPC Championship will be live-streamed by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Multimedia Department on a pay-per-view basis via the league's broadcast platform on Stretch Internet. Fans can access the streaming coverage by going to CWPATV.com and signing up for either individual games ($10 per game) or a weekend pass ($25) that allows unlimited viewing on the tournament throughout the weekend.
 
MAWPC Tournament Schedule
Friday, November 16
Game 1 – 3:00 p.m. – (1) Bucknell vs. (8) La Salle
Game 2 – 4:30 p.m. – (4) Fordham vs. (5) Navy
Game 3 – 6:00 p.m. – (2) George Washington vs. (7) McKendree
Game 4 – 7:30 p.m. – (3) Wagner vs. (6) Johns Hopkins
 
Saturday, November 17
Game 5 – 1:30 p.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 6 – 3:00 p.m. – Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 7 – 4:30 p.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 8 – 6:00 p.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
 
Sunday, November 18
7th Place Game – 9:00 a.m. – Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
5th Place Game – 10:30 a.m. – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
3rd Place Game – 12:00 p.m. – Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
Championship Game – 1:30 p.m. – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8
 
Navy vs. the Field
(1) Bucknell – Navy leads the all-time series 84-24; 0-2 in 2018
(2) George Washington – Navy leads all-time series 52-10; 0-2 in 2018
(3) Wagner – Wagner leads the all-time series 6-2; 1-1 in 2018
(4) Fordham – Navy leads the all-time series 26-5; 2-1 in 2018
(6) Johns Hopkins – Navy leads the all-time series 55-8; 2-0 in 2018
(7) McKendree – Navy and McKendree have never met
(8) La Salle – Navy leads series 5-0; 3-0 in 2018
 
Tournament History
Navy enters the tournament as the five seed after tying host Fordham with a 6-6 conference record. The Rams edged the Midshipmen for the higher seed based on tie-breakers. The Mids will be looking for their 10th league championship and first title since the 2008 season. Since the 2008 season, Navy claimed three division championships (2009, 2011, 2013) in the now defunct  CWPA South Division Tournament.
 
In mid-2016, the NCAA informed the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) that the league's division into Northeast Water Polo Conference (NEWPC) and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) was accepted by the organization. Since the conference change, the Midshipmen have finished sixth (2016) and fifth (2017).
 
Players to Watch
Freshman Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) and sophomore Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) emerged as offensive leaders for the Midshipmen. Salinas leads the team with 73 total points, netting 50 goals with a team-best 23 assists. His 50 goals are behind only Lee, who leads the team with 51 goals and is second on the squad with 60 total points. Defensively, Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) leads the team with 50 ejections drawn and Jake Haines (Ashburn, Va.) paces the team with 21 steals. Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) has played in 22 out of 26 games at goalie, notching a team-high 184 saves.
 
Last Time Out
Navy 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 before falling to George Washington, 17-8.
 
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.
 
In game one, the Midshipmen jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Reiff opened the scoring with a goal off a Lee 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 Haines 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. Salinas 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. Hopkins scored a goal to end the 7-0 run and provide the final margin of 13-7.
 
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 an Alex Piecuch (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) 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 William Lowdon (Hillsborough, Calif.) added scores in the fourth quarter, but Navy dropped a 17-8 decision.
 
Last Time vs. Fordham (L, 11-8 – Nov. 3, 2018)
Against Fordham, Navy got off to a slow start, getting outscored 6-2 in the first quarter. The Rams jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) found the back of the net to cut the deficit to one. Fordham responded with the next four goals to take a five-goal advantage before Salinas scored off a Jesse Hainze (Bellevue, Wash.) assist.
 
Trailing 6-2 heading into the second quarter, the Midshipmen outscored the Rams 4-2 to cut the margin to just a pair heading into halftime. Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) converted a penalty shot and Salinas followed with his third goal of the game. Fordham scored on a penalty shot, but Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.) answered on a fast break off a pass from Bobby Wall (San Mateo, Calif.). After a Ram goal, Lee closed out the half with his second goal of the quarter with an assist from Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.).
 
In the second half, defense limited the scoring. Fordham scored first in the third quarter, but Carson Miller (San Diego, Calif.) answered with a goal off of a spin move to keep the game close, 9-7. The Rams scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter, but William Lowdon (Hillsborough, Calif.) took a pass from Kevin Volkov (Freehold, N.J.) and buried it in the back of the net to end the mini run. The goal would be the last for the Midshipmen as the Rams claimed the 11-8 win.