ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 13 Navy water polo team (3-2) continues the season with three games at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 9-10 at DeNunzio Pool in Princeton, N.J. The Midshipmen open competition on Saturday with games against No. 19 Santa Clara (11:00 a.m.) and Chapman (8:00 p.m.) before concluding the tournament with a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference game against Wagner (12:30 p.m.) on Sunday.
For all in-game action and information on the Mids water polo team, follow the Midshipmen on Twitter at
@NavyWaterPolo, Instagram (
@NavyWaterPolo), and Facebook (
@NavyWaterPolo).
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Midshipmen entered the preseason poll ranked No. 20, but a 3-2 weekend in California that included a 10-9 upset of then-No. 9 Long Beach State helped boost the Mids in the rankings. In addition to Long Beach State, Navy also defeated Cal State Fullerton (W, 13-6) and Biola (W, 13-7), while dropping contests to No. 11 UC San Diego (L, 15-8) and No. 1 Cal (L, 18-6).
Offensively, the Midshipmen tallied 50 goals with 17 different student-athletes finding the back of the net. Navy was led by
Kiefer Black. The freshman tallied a team-high nine goals to go along with a team-best 11 assists for 20 total points in his first collegiate action.
Tommy McKnew added eight points on seven goals and an assist, while
Hayden Kahn (6g) and
Ivan Pang (3g 3a) added six points apiece. Additionally,
Nathan Duchez (4g 1a),
Aiden Day (3g 2a), and
Michael Heller (1g 4a) chipped in five points each.
Defensively, goalkeepers
Caden Capobianco and
Jack Hightower split a majority of the time between the posts. Capobianco tallied 33 of the Mids' 48 saves on the weekend, while adding 12 steals en route to a pair of victories. Hightower added 14 stops and eight takeaways, picking up a victory against Biola.
Scouting the Opposition
Santa Clara, who heads to the tournament ranked 19th in the country, enters the weekend 2-0 overall with victories over UC Merced (W, 22-7) and Fresno Pacific (W, 21-5) in the opening weekend. The Broncos will take on Iona (1-3) on Friday before squaring off against the Midshipmen on Saturday morning.
Chapman (1-0) picked up a victory over Orange Coast (W, 12-6) on Saturday, Sept. 2 to open the 2023 campaign. The Panthers will face No. 20 Fordham prior to taking the pool against Navy.
Wagner enters the Princeton Invitational with a 2-2 overall record. The Seahawks defeated MIT (W, 11-10) and McKendree (W, 17-8), while falling to No. 18 Harvard (L, 13-3) and No. 11 Pepperdine (L, 15-7) at the Bruno Classic in Cambridge, Mass. Wagner will take on Iona (3:30 p.m.) and LIU (8:00 p.m.) on Friday, while facing tournament-host No. 6 Princeton (9:30 a.m.) on Saturday. The Seahawks conclude the Princeton Invite with a conference game against the Midshipmen on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
Pair of Water Polo Players Claim Weekly Accolades
Navy had a pair of student-athletes garner weekly honors following a strong start to the season out in California. Senior goalkeeper
Caden Capobianco was named MAWPC Defensive Player of the Week, while freshman
Kiefer Black was selected Naval Academy Athletic Association (NAAA) Co-Athlete of the Week, presented by Northrop Grumman. Black shared the NAAA Athlete of the Week accolade with Jamie Llewellyn from the volleyball team.
The duo helped lead Navy to a 3-1 record at the Triton Invitational, including an upset victory over a top-10 opponent. Capobianco finished the weekend with 33 saves and 12 steals in just under three and a half games played. Black led the Midshipmen offensively with a team-best 20 points on a team-high nine goals and 11 assists in his first collegiate weekend of competition. The rookie scored at least one goal in all five games with four multi-goal performances, while distributing the ball well, posting at least one assist in each game with multiple helpers in four contests.
Water Polo Rises to No. 13 in CWPA Poll
The Navy water polo team (3-2) climbed to No. 13 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) national rankings, as announced on Wednesday afternoon. The Midshipmen entered the preseason poll ranked No. 20, but a 3-2 weekend in California that included a 10-9 upset of then-No. 9 Long Beach State helped boost the Mids in the rankings. In addition to Long Beach State, Navy also defeated Cal State Fullerton (W, 13-6) and Biola (W, 13-7), while dropping contests to No. 11 UC San Diego (L, 15-8) and No. 1 Cal (L, 18-6).
Up Next
Following the Princeton Invitational, Navy will host rival Air Force on Thursday, Sept. 14 at Lejeune Hall. The game, which is slated to start at 6:30 p.m., will be broadcast on YouTube.
