LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Navy water polo team (16-13) posted a 9-5 victory over No. 16 Fordham (24-8) to claim third place in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Tournament. The finish is the best for the Midshipmen since the league switched formats in 2016, and the highest conference tournament finish since 2014.
 
Sophomore Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) was named First Team All-MAWPC Tournament. Salinas finished the tournament with 10 goals and two assists for 12 total points. He was the only player selected to the first team that did not play in the championship game.
 
"I am so proud of this team," head coach Luis Nicolao said. "They played so well today and were able to come away with a huge win. Throughout the year, we had our ups and downs, but I couldn't be prouder of how this team played throughout the tournament. The seniors came up big for us today. Our captain Ronan played a tremendous game and got his 600th career save, which is a great accomplishment. Isaac has been so solid for us throughout the year and in the tournament. I am so proud that he was rewarded by being named to the All-Tournament first team."
 
Senior captain Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) earned the start in his final collegiate game. Entering the game, the senior had 597 career saves. Williams finished the day with 12 stops, giving him 609 for his career. He allowed just five goals to the nationally-ranked Rams en route to the victory. Senior Brandon Shields (Lake Forest, Calif.) saw action in the fourth quarter, recording a pair of saves with no goals allowed.
 
The Navy defense tallied seven steals in the game. Williams and Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) paced the team with two steals apiece. The Mids also drew six ejections led by Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.) who finished with two ejections drawn.
 
Offensively, seven different players recorded goals in the game. The Mids had eight assists on their nine goals for 17 points in the game.
 
Senior Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.), who was named All-MAWPC earlier this week, led the team with three goals for a hat trick in his final game. He also added an assist for a team-high four points. Fellow senior Kevin Volkov (Freehold, N.J.), along with Altmayer, Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.), Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.), Salinas, and Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) added goals in the game. Altmayer paced the team with two helpers to finish the game with three points.
 
In the first quarter, T. Clark got the Midshipmen on the scoreboard with his first goal of the game. The Rams responded with back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 advantage through one quarter. Volkov knotted the score at two apiece in the second quarter. Salinas gave Navy the lead midway through the second quarter and W. Clark pushed the advantage to two with 22 ticks on the clock before halftime.
 
The second half saw Navy push the lead to 6-2 with back-to-back goals by Altmayer and Jacobs. Fordham answered with two goals in the quarter to close out the third. It the fourth quarter, T. Clark opened the period with two goals to complete the hat trick. After a Rams goal, Shashin provided the final margin of 9-5 with a goal.
 
 
MAWPC Tournament Schedule
Friday, November 22
Game 1 – (1) Bucknell 13, (8) La Salle 10
Game 2 – (4) Navy 16, (5) Wagner 12
Game 3 – (2) Fordham 16, (7) Gannon 11
Game 4 – (3) George Washington 17, (6) Johns Hopkins 9
 
Saturday, November 23
Game 5 – (5) Wagner 15, (8) La Salle 13
Game 6 – (6) Johns Hopkins 17, (7) Gannon 13
Game 7 – (1) Bucknell 7, (4) Navy 5
Game 8 – (3) George Washington 9, (2) Fordham 5
 
Sunday, November 24
7th Place Game – (7) Gannon 15, (8) La Salle 9
5th Place Game – (5) Wagner 14, (6) Johns Hopkins 11
3rd Place Game – (4) Navy 9, (2) Fordham 5
Championship Game – (1) Bucknell 9, (3) George Washington 4
 
 
2019 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship
All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player: Rade Joksimovic (Bucknell)
Rookie of the Tournament: Andu Vlasceanu (Bucknell)
Coach of the Tournament: John McBride (Bucknell)
 
First Team
Matt Taylor (Goalie – George Washington)
Andrew Mavis (George Washington)
Andras Levai (George Washington)
Rade Joksimovic (Bucknell)
Logan Schofield (Bucknell)
Andu Vlasceanu (Bucknell)
Isaac Salinas (Navy)
 
Second Team
Bailey O'Mara (Goalie – Fordham)
Jake Miller-Tolt (Fordham)
Dimitris Koukias (Fordham)
Drago Marjanovic (Gannon)
Atakan Destici (George Washington)
Daniel Domotor (La Salle)
Oliver Fodor (Wagner)