ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (14-9, 6-3 MAWPC-East) concludes regular season action with three games over the weekend. The Midshipmen open with a pair of home games on Saturday, taking on Wagner (5-20, 3-6) at 11:00 a.m. before finishing the day with No. 16 Fordham (18-5, 5-2) at 5:00 p.m. Both games will be played at Scott Natatorium and the Mids' game against the Rams will serve as Senior Day. Navy closes out the weekend on Sunday with a road trip to Lewisburg, Pa. to cap the regular season with a game against No. 14 Bucknell (17-7, 8-1) at 11:00 a.m. at Kinney Natatorium.
Senior Day
Prior to the Fordham game, the Midshipmen will recognize seven seniors – Kyle McKean (manager – Middletown, N.J.),
Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.),
William Lowdon (Hillsborough, Calif.),
Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.),
Brandon Shields (Lake Forest, Calif.),
Kevin Volkov (Freehold, N.J.), and
Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) – for their contributions to the team over the past four seasons.
Over the past four seasons, the senior class has amassed 47 wins with a pair of victories over rival Air Force. In addition, these Mids have tallied 319 points on 200 goals and 119 assists, while posting 157 steals and drawing 104 total ejections.
Scouting the Midshipmen
Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) leads the team with 77 goals and 89 points on the season. The sophomore currently has 166 career points on 131 goals and 35 assists. He is first among active players in career points with
Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) who is second with 151 points on 116 career goals and 35 assists. Freshmen
Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.) and
Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) lead the team with 25 and 20 assists, respectively.
Defensively,
Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) and
Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) led the way with 104 and 108 saves, correspondingly. Williams and Sandberg are tied with 14 games played apiece.
Brandon Shields (Lake Forest, Calif.) has played in eight games, chipping in 29 stops.
The Series – Wagner
The Seahawks lead the Midshipmen, 6-3, in the all-time series. After Navy won the first game of the series, Wagner posted six consecutive victories to take the series lead. The Mids have won the last two meetings in the series, including a 12-10 victory earlier this season.
In the last meeting between the two teams, Williams posted 15 saves and Salinas tallied five goals to lead Navy to the victory.
The Series – Fordham
Navy is 27-6 all-time against Fordham. The series began in 1982 with a Midshipmen victory – the first of 24 straight wins for Navy. Fordham broke the streak in 2016, and won four consecutive games in the series before Navy claimed back-to-back wins in 2018. The Rams won the final two games of the four meetings between the two teams last season. This year, Navy notched a 15-12 victory over No. 16 Fordham in the Bronx.
Earlier this season, Sandberg worked a complete game between the pipes to earn the win. The sophomore tallied 11 saves, including holding the nationally-ranked Rams scoreless in the fourth quarter. In addition, Sandberg led the team with a pair of steals.
Offensively, Salinas paced the offense with a team-high six goals.
Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.) and
Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.) added a pair of goals apiece. Reiff and Altmayer led the team with three assists apiece.
The Series – Bucknell
Navy leads the all-time series over Bucknell, 84-25, however, the Midshipmen have dropped the last eight meetings against the Bison. The Mids began the series with a 12-game winning streak and hold a series-long 23-game win streak. Navy won 39 of 40 games in the series between 1995 and 2008.
The last time the two teams met, Bucknell posted an 11-10 win in Annapolis. Sandberg tallied eight saves against the nationally ranked Bison with a pair of steals to his credit in a complete-game effort. Altmayer finished with a pair of goals and an assist for a team-best three points against Bucknell, while Salinas led the team with three goals. In addition, Lee and
Zach Luci (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) chipped in a pair of goals apiece versus the Bison.
Last Time Out
Navy battled hard, but ultimately fell to George Washington in a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference East game on Sunday afternoon at the St. James Sports Complex in Springfield, Va.
Offensively, Navy had nine players score goals in the game with
Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.) leading the charge with three goals in the game. It was the freshman's second hat trick and first since opening day of the season.
Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.),
Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.), and
Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) each added a pair of goals apiece in the contest.
Defensively,
Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) finished the game with a career high 17 saves in the contest, while surrendering 17 goals. He added a pair of steals.
Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.) led the way with four steals, while Salinas chipped in three.
Up Next
Following the games this weekend, the Mids will have a bye week before competition in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Tournament. The tournament is set for Friday-Sunday, Nov. 22-24 in Lewisburg, Pa. Times and opponents are still yet to be determined.
