ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 17 Navy water polo team (6-2) is back in action this weekend as the Midshipmen head to Colorado for the Rare Air Challenge hosted by Air Force.
Navy will take on tournament host Air Force (4-4) on Friday, Sept. 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET for the Freedom Vase. The Midshipmen continue the weekend on Saturday, Sept. 21 against Concordia (2-7) at 3:30 p.m. ET and #14 Harvard (4-2) at 8:00 p.m. ET before concluding the tournament on Sunday, Sept. 22 with Biola (1-5) at 12:00 p.m. ET and Cal Lutheran (1-3) at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Navy's game against Air Force will be broadcast on
ESPN+, while all five games will have live stats via
The FOSH statistics program.
Social Media
For more information on Navy water polo, follow the team on Instagram (
@NavyWaterPolo), X / Twitter (
@NavyWaterPolo), and Facebook (
@NavyWaterPolo).
Milestone Watch
Head coach
Luis Nicolao entered the 2024 season with 492 career wins as a men's head water polo coach, including 90 victories at Navy. Following a 6-2 start to the season, Nicolao is now just two wins back of the 500-win plateau for his career and four victories shy of 100 wins at Navy.
The Freedom Vase
In 2009, Bruce Hopping with the Kalos Kagathos Foundation in Laguna Beach, Calif. created an award – the Freedom Vase – which he made in the hopes that Air Force and Navy would play an annual game and the winner would receive.
Hopping founded Kalos Kagathos with the goal "to put athletic fitness on a pedestal by creating sport-inspired statues and statuettes, much like the Greeks, 'whose sculptures are a testament to the beauty of the human form and the grace of competition.'" Hopping's goal was to have the two teams play each Fall and have the Vase on the line to represent "physical distinction, nobility of mind," which he believed blended well into the values of each Academy.
Navy and Air Force will meet for the 36th time in series history on Friday evening. The Midshipmen hold a 24-11 advantage in the all-time series, including an 11-7 victory over the Falcons last season in Annapolis. Prior to the Mids' victory in 2023, the Falcons had won the two previous meetings, including a 13-12 sudden-death overtime game in 2022 at Air Force.
The two teams have played each other regularly, but, generally, Air Force and Navy squared off against one another at a neutral site. Prior to the 2021 season, the two programs agreed to make the games against one another a home-and-home series alternating who hosts each year. The 2021 meeting in Annapolis was the first time since 2009 that the two teams met at a home site, while 2022's game in Colorado Springs marked the first time since 2006 that the two teams met at Air Force.
Student-Athlete Spotlight: Jack Hightower
Junior goalkeeper
Jack Hightower is the subject of this week's Student-Athlete Spotlight presented by Northrop Grumman.
VIDEO
National Ranking
The Midshipmen enter the weekend ranked 17th in the Collegiate Water Polo Association national poll. It is the second consecutive week for the Mids ranking 17th after starting the year off at No. 18 in the preseason poll. Additionally, the Mids started the year in 18th according to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches. The Midshipmen were ranked each week of the year in 2023, starting during the preseason poll, closing out the season at No. 17. This weekend the Midshipmen will No. 14 Harvard, while also taking on Air Force and Cal Lutheran who are receiving votes in the latest poll.
Princeton Invitational Review
After beginning the 2024 season 5-0 at the Navy Open, the Midshipmen went 1-2 at the Princeton Invitational. The Mids faced a pair of top 10 opponents in No. 6 Princeton (L, 20-10) and No. 7 Pacific (L, 16-12), while earning a 17-6 victory over Iona.
Kiefer Black and
Luka Sekulic led the team with six goals apiece, while Black notched a team-high six assists for 12 points over the weekend.
Billy Zech and
Michael Heller added five and four goals, respectively, with
Connor Cashman,
Orion Erwin,
Maddox Garrahy, and
Holden Seybold chipping in three scores apiece.
Austin Kahn was second behind Black with four helpers, while Cashman and
Matt Mai-Prasarnsuk added three assists each.
Three goalies saw action at the Princeton Invite.
Jack Hightower and
Jack Rodoni finished with nine saves apiece, while
Ryan Munch added five stops. Hightower led the goalkeepers with four steals, including three takeaways against No. 6 Princeton.
Up Next
Following the Rare Air Challenge, the Midshipmen continue conference play. Navy, who is 1-0 in MAWPC play after defeating Mount St. Mary's (W, 21-7) at the Navy Open, will travel to New York to play a trio of conference opponents. The Mids begin the weekend with the reigning league champions No. 10 Fordham (10:30 a.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 28 in the Bronx before concluding the day in Staten Island against Wagner (4:00 p.m.). The Midshipmen return to the Bronx on Sunday for a neutral site game against league newcomer Mercyhurst (9:00 a.m.).
