ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (13-14, 8-8) are set to compete in the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Tournament this weekend at Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx, N.Y. The sixth-seeded Midshipmen open the tournament on Friday, Nov. 18 at 1:40 p.m. against 11th-seeded Mercyhurst (3-20, 0-10). The tournament continues through Sunday, Nov. 20, with the championship game slated for 3:00 p.m.
Tournament Information
The road to the 2022 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship will run through the Bronx, N.Y., as Bucknell, Fordham, Gannon, George Washington, Johns Hopkins, McKendree, Mercyhurst, Mount St. Mary's, Navy, Salem, and Wagner will compete in the 2022 MAWPC Championship on Friday-Sunday, November 18-20, at Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx, N.Y. on the campus of Fordham.
The sixth MAWPC Championship since the formation of the league and the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) from the formerly all-inclusive Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the 11 teams will take to the water to decide which program is the best-of the-best and qualifies for the NCAA Championship via an automatic bid.
Competition at the three-day, 18-game championship begins on Friday, November 18, as McKendree faces Gannon (11:00 a.m.), Mount St. Mary's battles Johns Hopkins (12:20 p.m.), Navy looks to sink Mercyhurst (1:40 p.m.), and Wagner aims to get by Salem (3:00 p.m.) in the first round of competition.
Three teams – Fordham, George Washington, and Bucknell – received first-round byes. The top-seeded Rams will take on the winner of Game 1 (4:20 p.m.), while the Colonials await the winner of Game 2 (5:40 p.m.). Bucknell will play the winner of the Midshipmen and Lakers (7:00 p.m.).
On Saturday, November 19, the losers and winners meet prior to the placement games on Sunday, November 20.
For fans unable to make the trip to the Bronx, the League will stream the entirety of the tournament at CWPATV.com at a cost of $10 per game or $25 for a weekend pass to all 18 contests.
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Mids enter the weekend with a 13-14 overall record on the season, including an 8-8 mark in conference play. The Midshipmen earned the No. 6 seed in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Tournament.
This season, Navy has played 14 games decided by two-goals or less with six overtime games. The Mids are 5-9 in games decided by two goals or less with a 3-3 mark in OT contests.
Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.),
Michael Heller (Menlo Park, Calif.), and
Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) lead the Midshipmen offensively. Altmayer paces the offense with a team-high 67 points on 37 goals and a team-best 30 assists. Heller has contributed a team-high 48 goals with 13 helpers to give him 61 total points, while Clark has a more balanced 22 goals and 27 assists for 49 total points.
Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.) has 26 goals, while
Nathan Duchez (San Jose, Calif.) has added 25 scores.
Travis Berzins (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and
Hayden Kahn (San Clemente, Calif.) have 23 and 21 goals, respectively, while
Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.) has 19 helpers to his credit.
Defensively,
Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) has seen a majority of time between the posts. The junior has appeared in 24 of 27 games, notching 233 saves and registering a 47.6 save percentage. In addition, Capobianco leads the team with 68 steals.
Jack Hightower (San Diego, Calif.) has 36 stops and a 43.4 save percentage with six steals. Berzins, Altmayer, and Heller lead all position players with 16, 15, and 15 steals apiece.
McKnew and Kahn lead the team with 25 ejections drawn each, while Berzins is five back with 20.
Kyle Yelensky (Stamford, Conn.) is fourth with 19, while
Chris Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.) rounds out the top five with 15 ejections drawn.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Nov. 18
Game 1: 11:00 a.m. – (8) McKendree vs. (9) Gannon
Game 2: 12:20 p.m. – (7) Mount St. Mary's vs. (10) Johns Hopkins
Game 3: 1:40 p.m. – (6) Navy vs. (11) Mercyhurst
Game 4: 3:00 p.m. – (4) Wagner vs. (5) Salem
Game 5: 4:20 p.m. – (1) Fordham vs. Winner Game 1
Game 6: 5:40 p.m. – (2) George Washington vs. Winner Game 2
Game 7: 7:00 p.m. – (3) Bucknell vs. Winner Game 3
Saturday, Nov. 19
Game 8: 1:00 p.m. – Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3
Game 9: 2:20 p.m. – Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5
Game 10: 3:40 p.m. – Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 11: 5:00 p.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3
Game 12: 6:30 p.m. – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4
Game 13: 8:00 p.m. – Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7
Sunday, Nov. 20
Game 14: 9:00 a.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 15: 10:30 a.m. – Loser Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9 (Seventh Place Game)
Game 16: 12:00 p.m. – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 (Fifth Place Game)
Game 17: 1:30 p.m. – Loser Game 13 vs. Loser Game 12 (Third Place Game)
Game 18: 3:00 p.m. – Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13 (Championship Game)
Tournament Field
(1) Fordham (23-7, 16-0)
(2) George Washington (21-6, 14-2)
(3) Bucknell (14-14, 10-6) *
(4) Wagner (16-12, 10-6) *
(5) Salem (14-12, 5-5) **
(6) Navy (13-14, 8-8) **
(7) Mount St. Mary's (13-13, 6-10)
(8) McKendree (6-17, 3-7)
(9) Gannon (8-15, 2-8)
(10) Johns Hopkins (10-22, 2-14)
(11) Mercyhurst (3-20, 0-10)
Due to Bucknell, Fordham, George Washington, Johns Hopkins, Mount St. Mary's, Navy, and Wagner contesting 16 league contests (double round robin in group, one meeting against the West institutions) with the West institutions (Gannon, McKendree, Mercyhurst, and Salem) competing in single league matches against each institution, the championship is seeded based on winning percentage.
* – Bucknell claimed the No. 3 seed due to defeating Wagner by scores of 11-9 and 11-5;
** – Salem claimed the No. 5 seed due to a 14-13 win in sudden death overtime vs. Navy on October 9
