ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 20 Navy water polo team (2-2) heads to the Garden State for the annual Princeton Invitational at DeNunzio Pool in Princeton, N.J. The Midshipmen will square off against Santa Clara (0-1) and Iona (2-2) on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively, before concluding competition in the tournament against No. 18 St. Francis Brooklyn (2-2) on Sunday at 9:15 a.m.
For all in-game action, follow the Midshipmen on Twitter at
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Capobianco Earns First MAWPC Defensive Player of the Week Honor of the Year
The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) announced its first Athletes of the Week for the 2022 season and Navy goalkeeper
Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) was selected as Defensive Player of the Week. Capobianco helped lead Navy to a pair of victories at the Navy Open over the weekend. The junior keeper tallied 35 of the Mids' 40 saves on the weekend, while adding 12 steals, and three assists.
Water Polo Enters CWPA Rankings at No. 20
The Navy water polo team moved into the National Top-20 poll, entering the rankings at No. 20, as announced on Wednesday evening by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA). This is the first week that the Midshipmen have been ranked during the 2022 season, after receiving votes in the preseason poll.
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Mids enter the weekend with a 2-2 overall record at the Navy Open. The Midshipmen bested Biola (W, 12-7) and Cal Lutheran (W, 16-11) while being edged by No. 11 Princeton (L, 7-5) and dropping a game to defending national champion and top-ranked Cal (L, 24-8).
Offensively, the Midshipmen tallied 41 goals with 15 different student-athletes finding the back of the net. Navy was led by
Michael Heller (Menlo Park, Calif.),
Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.), and
Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.) who finished the opening weekend with eight, seven, and six goals, respectively.
Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.) and
Connor Simpson (San Rafael, Calif.) paced the squad with five assists apiece, while Capobianco chipped in three helpers.
Defensively, goalkeepers Capobianco and
Jack Hightower (San Diego, Calif.) split time between the posts. Capobianco tallied 35 of the Mids' 40 saves on the weekend, while adding 12 steals en route to a pair of victories. Hightower made his collegiate debut against Biola, while picking up his first collegiate save against No.1 Cal.
Scouting the Opposition
Santa Clara enters the weekend 0-1 overall after a comeback effort against No. 9 San Jose State fell short. The Broncos fell behind 10-3, but closed out the game with a 5-0 over the final frame as they attempted to make the comeback. Santa Clara opens the Princeton Invite against Navy before continuing competition against the tournament host, No. 10 Princeton, on Saturday afternoon. The Broncos close out the tournament with games against Iona and Wagner on Sunday.
Iona took part in the Navy Open to start the 2022 campaign. The Gaels finished the weekend 2-2, falling to Mount St. Mary's 13-12 in overtime and dropping a 23-7 contest to No. 1 Cal. Iona picked up a forfeit victory against Bucknell (W, 5-0) before closing out the Navy Open with a behind-the-back game-winning goal from mid pool as time expired against Cal Lutheran (W, 14-13). In addition to Navy, the Gaels will take the pool against Wagner, Santa Clara, and George Washington.
St. Francis Brooklyn, who heads to the tournament ranked 18th in the country, opened the year 2-2 at the Bruno Classic in Providence, R.I. The Terriers posted a 15-13 victory over Air Force before dropping a 22-9 decision to No. 5 Pacific. St. Francis was topped by No. 4 Stanford (L, 26-10) before closing out the tournament with a 23-12 victory over Gannon. The Terriers will play Wagner on Friday night before taking the pool against George Washington and Bucknell on Saturday. St. Francis concludes the Princeton Invite on Sunday with games against No. 20 Navy and No. 17 Fordham.
