ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (10-10, 5-4) returns to action this weekend with a pair of road Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference games. The Midshipmen open the weekend at Wagner (12-11, 7-5) at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island, N.Y. before concluding the weekend in the Bronx with a Saturday afternoon (3:00 p.m.) tilt with No. 17 Fordham (16-6, 10-0) at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center.
Media Coverage
Live video will be available for the Mids' game against the Rams.
In addition, fans can follow Navy water polo on social media. For all in-game action, follow the Midshipmen on Twitter at
@NavyWaterPolo. For more information on the Mids water polo team, follow them on Instagram (
@NavyWaterPolo) and Facebook (
@NavyWaterPolo).
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Mids enter the weekend with a 10-10 overall record on the season, including a 5-4 mark in conference play. Last week, Navy split a pair of road contests, getting edged 15-14 to Mount St. Mary's before posting a 10-9 golden-goal victory over Bucknell.
Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.),
Michael Heller (Menlo Park, Calif.), and
Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) lead the Midshipmen. Altmayer paces the offense with a team-high 46 points on 26 goals and a team-best 20 assists. Heller has contributed 31 goals and 11 helpers to give him 42 total points, while Clark has a balanced 20 goals and 20 assists for 40 total points.
Nathan Duchez (San Jose, Calif.) has 22 goals, while
Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.) has added 18 scores.
Travis Berzins (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and
Hayden Kahn (San Clemente, Calif.) have 17 goals apiece, while
Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.) has 17 helpers to his credit.
Defensively, Capobianco has seen a majority of time between the posts. The junior has appeared in 18 of 20 games, notching 172 saves and registering a 46.0 save percentage. In addition, Capobianco leads the team with 54 steals.
Jack Hightower (San Diego, Calif.) earned a pair of victories during the CWPA Crossover Weekend, finishing with 15 saves and a pair of steals. For the season, Hightower has 20 stops and a 44.4 save percentage with five steals. Berzins leads all position players with 13 steals, while Altmayer (12) Heller (11) and
Peter Hillen (10 – Orinda, Calif.) also have double-digit takeaways.
Kyle Yelensky (Stamford, Conn.) and McKnew lead the team with 19 ejections drawn, while Kahn is one back with 18. Berzins, Clark, and
Chris Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.) also have double-digit KOD with 12, 12, and 11.
Scouting the Opposition
Wagner (12-11, 7-5 MAWPC) – The Seahawks will welcome Navy to the Spiro Sports Center on Saturday, October 22 at 10:00 A.M. before heading to Brooklyn to take on LIU at 3:00 P.M. Wagner earned three wins in four games this past weekend, including victories over Johns Hopkins and LIU at the Spiro Sports Center. With five games left in the regular season, the Seahawks have a 12-11 overall record and a 7-5 MAWPC record.
Wagner leads the all-time series 8-6. The Midshipmen won the first meeting between the two teams in 2016, but dropped six games in a row before winning five of the next six games. Earlier this season, the Seahawks edged the Mids, 15-14, in Annapolis.
#17 Fordham (16-6, 10-0 MAWPC) – The Rams are putting their undefeated conference record on the line as they host the Midshipmen at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. The defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Champion has rattled off 10 straight conference wins to open the season.
Navy leads the all-time series with Fordham, 28-10. The Mids won the first 24 games of the series (1982-15), but the Rams have claimed 10 of the last 14 meetings, including posting a 9-6 victory over the Midshipmen in the 2021 MAWPC Championship game.
Up Next
Navy returns home next weekend for two of the final four home games. The Mids will host a conference tilt with Johns Hopkins (Friday, 7:30 p.m.) before continuing the weekend with a home match against Geroge Washington (Saturday, 12:00 p.m.). Both games will be live streamed.
