ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (10-12, 5-6) returns to action this weekend with a pair of home Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference games at Scott Natatorium in Annapolis, Md. The Midshipmen open the weekend against Johns Hopkins (10-17, 2-9) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday before concluding the weekend with a Saturday afternoon (12:00 p.m.) matchup with No. 19 George Washington (17-5, 6-1).
Media Coverage
Live video will be available for both games.
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 10-12 overall record on the season, including a 5-6 mark in conference play. Last week, Navy dropped a pair of road contests, getting edged 13-11 to Wagner before falling 14-7 to No. 17 Fordham.
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 50 points on 29 goals and 21 assists. Heller has contributed a team-high 36 goals with 12 helpers to give him 48 total points, while Clark has a balanced 21 goals and a team-best 22 assists for 43 total points.
Nathan Duchez (San Jose, Calif.) has 23 goals, while
Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.) has added 20 scores.
Travis Berzins (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and
Hayden Kahn (San Clemente, Calif.) have 18 goals apiece, while
Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.) has 17 helpers to his credit.
Defensively,
Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) has seen a majority of time between the posts. The junior has appeared in 20 of 22 games, notching 190 saves and registering a 45.7 save percentage. In addition, Capobianco leads the team with 56 steals.
Jack Hightower (San Diego, Calif.) has 28 stops and a 42.9 save percentage with five steals. Altmayer leads all position players with 14 steals, while Berzins and Heller have notched 13 takeaways apiece. Clark and
Peter Hillen (Orinda, Calif.) round out Navy's double-digit steals with 10 each.
McKnew leads the team with 22 ejections drawn, while Kahn is two back with 20.
Kyle Yelensky (Stamford, Conn.) is third with 19, while Berzins, Clark, and
Chris Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.) also have double-digit KOD with 16, 13, and 13, respectively.
Scouting the Opposition
Johns Hopkins (10-17, 2-9 MAWPC) – The Blue Jays enter the weekend on a three-game winning streak, defeating Penn State Behrend (W, 21-5), Augustana College (W, 15-14), and MIT (W, 12-11) in the CWPA Division II Championship in Erie, Pa. The three-game win streak snapped Hopkins' 10-game losing streak.
Navy leads the all-time series 59-9. The Midshipmen have won four consecutive games against the Blue Jays, while claiming eight of the last 10 meetings. The game on Friday is the first of two games between Navy and Johns Hopkins to close out the regular season.
#19 George Washington (15-5, 6-1 MAWPC) – The Colonials enter the weekend on a three-game losing streak, falling to a trio of nationally-ranked opponents out in California – No. 15 San Jose State (L, 10-9), No. 16 California Baptist (L, 12-11), and No. 2 Cal (L, 24-10). Prior to the three-game skid, GW had posted 17 victories in its last 18 games, including boasting a 15-game winning streak from Sept. 3 at the Navy Open until dropping a game to No. 18 Fordham (L, 16-7) on Oct. 15 in the Colonials' only conference blemish.
Navy is 57-13 all-time against George Washington. The game marks the second meeting between the two teams this season. The Colonials edged the Mids, 14-12, on Oct. 2 at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. The two teams met three times last season with the Mids besting the Colonials twice. Navy posted a 12-9 victory in overtime in the first meeting, before being edged 11-10 in the final home game of the regular season. The two teams met in the MAWPC Tournament semifinals with Navy notching an 11-7 win to advance to the championship game.
Up Next
Navy closes out the regular season with three Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference games. The Midshipmen host Bucknell (3:00 p.m.) and Fordham (8:00 p.m.) on Saturday, Nov. 5, before traveling to Baltimore for a road contest against Johns Hopkins (5:00 p.m.) on Sunday, Nov. 6 at the Newton White Athletic Center – Natatorium. The home games against the Bison and Rams will be live streamed.
