ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 19 Navy water polo team begins the 2021 season with the annual Navy Open this weekend. The Midshipmen will play four games during the tournament, which runs from Saturday, Sept. 4 through Sunday, Sept. 5. Navy will host nine teams – Bucknell, Cal, George Washington, Iona, Johns Hopkins, Mount St. Mary's, Princeton, Salem, and UC Davis – in the annual event.
 
All 10 games on Saturday will be played at Lejeune Hall, while seven of the nine matchups on Sunday will take place at Lejeune. Two contests will be played at Scott Natatorium on Sunday. All four of Navy's games will be played at Lejeune.
 
The Mids officially open the season with a game against No. 3 Cal at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday morning. The tournament continues with Salem at 6:00 p.m. On Sunday, the Midshipmen play a pair of games, starting at 9:15 a.m. against Iona. Navy takes on No. 9 UC Davis at 3:30 p.m. to conclude action in the tournament.
 
Accessing the USNA
The USNA is closed to all vehicles without a Department of Defense-approved identification card. All other visitors are encouraged to park downtown and walk through the security gates at Gate 1. When walking on, those ages 18 and over must present a photo identification card (driver's license) to gain access and those ages 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
 
COVID-19 Policy
Masks must be worn by everyone indoors regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. Once on the USNA grounds, those who have not been vaccinated must wear a mask at all times and those who have been vaccinated have the option to wear a mask while outdoors but must wear a mask while indoors.
 
Preseason Poll
Navy was selected 19th in the National Top-20 poll released on Wednesday by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA). In addition, the Midshipmen were picked second in the preseason Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) preseason poll. Defending MAWPC Champion Bucknell (95 points) earned the top spot in the conference poll with Navy (94) and Fordham (94) tying for second with Johns Hopkins (82) and George Washington (69) rounding out the top five.
 
Season in Review
Navy finished the shortened season 6-1 overall. The Midshipmen closed out the year with wins over George Washington (twice), La Salle (twice), Iona, and Bucknell. Navy's only loss was a 12-11 overtime loss to No. 8 Bucknell. The Mids immediately bounced back from that loss with a 15-5 win over Bison in the next game.
 
The Mids finished the regular season in first place in the conference and were set to be the top seed in the MAWPC Tournament, but were not allowed to compete in the tournament due to the Naval Academy being under a restriction of movement (ROM). The MAWPC announced its All-Conference teams for the East Region and Navy had three student-athletes represented – Isaac Salinas (first team), Bobby Lee (second team), and Jake Altmayer (second team).
 
Salinas was also selected Second-Team All-America by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC). Salinas became the third Midshipmen to earn second-team honors and the first to claim the distinction since Aaron Recko ('08) in 2007. Salinas, who was an honorable mention selection in 2019, became the eleventh player in program history to earn multiple All-American honors and the first since Carl Dowzicky ('16) who was an All-American in 2013 and 2015.
 
Salinas finished the shortened season with a team-high 23 points on a team-high 20 goals with three assists. He was joined by Altmayer who finished with 18 points, including a team-best 12 assists. Lee added 17 points (12g 5a), while Bobby Wall (5g 7a), Payton Comstock (7g 4a), and Ivan Pang (4g 6a) finished with 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively.
 
Defensively, Jack Weggeland paced the position players with eight steals, while Cole Jacobs and Salinas added six apiece. Travis Berzins and Kyle Yelensky registered seven ejections drawn each to lead the team, while Salinas added six.
 
At goal, the Mids used a pair of goalies – Max Sandberg and Caden Capobianco. The Navy goalies recorded 74 saves and a save percentage of 60.2. Sandberg recorded a team-best 44 saves, while Capobianco, who led all players with 10 steals, added 30 stops. Sandberg led the team with a 65.7 save percentage with Capobianco registering a 53.6 clip.