April 24, 2008

Eastern Championship Live Video

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's water polo team will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Eastern Championship this weekend. The Bison are seeded fifth in the three-day event that decides the Collegiate Water Polo Association's automatic berth to the NCAA Championship. Bucknell will face fourth-seeded Princeton in the first round Friday at 12:30 p.m.

The Bison and Tigers have squared off three times this year with each meeting decided by one goal. In their most recent contest, last Saturday at the Southern Championships, Bucknell lost to Princeton in heartbreaking fashion 10-9 on a goal at the buzzer of overtime.

Bucknell Women's Water Polo Notebook (25-8, 5-1 CWPA)
Bucknell Notes
• Bucknell enters the Eastern Championship with a 25-8 record, the most victories in program history. The 2005 and 2006 Bison squads both posted 23 victories.

• Bucknell finished second at the Southern Championships, held last Saturday at Kinney Natatorium. It equaled the 2005 squad for the program's best-ever showing at Southerns.

• Bucknell is seeded fifth at the Eastern Championship, equaling the best seeding in program history. The Bison were also seeded fifth in 2006. That same year Bucknell finished fourth, marking the best showing in program history.

• This is Bucknell's seventh straight appearance at the Eastern Championship.

• Bucknell has lost just four games since March 13. All four of those contests have been by one goal and two have been decided in overtime.

• Freshman Kandis Canonica surpassed the Bucknell single-season points record last weekend. She now has 105 points this season on 48 goals and a team-high 57 assists. Meagan Gins had held the points record, tallying 103 in 2006.

• Canonica is on the verge of breaking the program record for assists. Her team-high 57 assists are one shy of Adrienne Schober's record of 58 that has stood since 2001.

• Sophomore Valentina Rozas leads the Bison with a career-high 64 goals this year. That figure ranks fourth on Bucknell's single-season list and is just six behind Gins' record of 70.

• Junior Aubrey Rowe is also on the verge of a record, piling up a career-high 77 steals this season. Paige Cull had 80 steals in 2001 to hold the program standard.

• Sophomore goalie Alison Carter has registered 224 saves this season, good for seventh on the Bison single-season ledger. With 14 saves this weekend she will move into fourth place with the most saves by a Bucknell goalie since 2004.

• Friday's game against Princeton will mark the 34th contest of the season for the Bison, equaling the most games played in program history. The Bison will play no fewer than 36 contests this year.

• Bucknell is outscoring its opponents by an average score of 10.9 to 7.4.

• The Bison have set team records for wins (25), goals (361), assists (243), points (604), steals (470), ejections drawn (327), shots (847) and saves (316).

• There are five nationally ranked teams in the Eastern Championship field: No. 11 Michigan, No. 14 Hartwick, No. 17 Indiana, No. 20 Princeton and No. 20 Brown. Bucknell is 2-5 against nationally ranked opponents this year.

• The Bison enter the Eastern Championship with a 4-5 record this year against the rest of the eight-team field.

Career Record Watch
• Whitney Allen: 9th in ejections drawn (75)
• Kandis Canonica: t-10th in assists (57)
• Meagan Gins: 1st in points (344), 1st in goals (234), 3rd in assists (110), 9th in steals (138), 1st in ejections drawn (264), 1st in shots (566), t-3rd in games played (129), 1st in games started (126)
• Shana Palencia: 6th in sprints won (35)
• Aubrey Rowe: 7th in points (220), 6th in goals (139), 7th in assists (81), 5th in steals (162), 4th in ejections drawn (103), 5th in sprints won (45), 8th in shots (319), 9th in games started (83)
• Valentina Rozas: 10th in goals (113), 2nd in ejections drawn (137), 9th in shots (265)
• Jennifer Swoyer: 8th in ejections drawn (80), 9th in games played (112)
• Alison Carter: 4th in saves (264)
• Rachel McGillis: 5th in saves (115)

Season Record Watch
• Whitney Allen: 2nd in ejections drawn (75)
• Kandis Canonica: 1st in points (105), 2nd in assists (57)
• Alison Carter: t-8th in saves (207), t-9th in steals (53)
• Meagan Gins: 3rd in points (95), t-4th in assists (41), 6th in ejections drawn (57)
• Aubrey Rowe: 10th in points (84), 10th in assists (32), 2nd in steals (77)
• Valentina Rozas: 4th in goals (64), t-9th in steals (53), 3rd in ejections drawn (73)

Bucknell vs. Possible Weekend Opponents
• Bucknell vs. Michigan: 0-11 (Last four games decided by nine total goals)
• Bucknell vs. Hartwick: 1-6 (Bucknell's lone win came in 2005)
• Bucknell vs. Indiana: 2-3 (Bucknell won only meeting in 2008)
• Bucknell vs. Princeton: 1-24 (Last nine meetings decided by three goals or less; Bison posted their first win in series on March 28)
• Bucknell vs. Maryland: 16-6 (Bucknell snapped three-game losing streak earlier this year; has won two straight in series)
• Bucknell vs. Brown: 3-7 (Brown holds 4-1 edge last five meetings)
• Bucknell vs. Mercyhurst: 0-0

2008 Bucknell Weekly Honors
• CWPA Southern Division Player of the Week:
- Valentina Rozas (2/11, 2/18, 3/3)
- Alison Carter (4/1)
- Meagan Gins (4/23)
• Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week:
- Valentina Rozas (2/11, 3/3)

Up Next
• If Bucknell wins the Eastern Championship for the first time in program history, it will advance on to its first NCAA Championship. The NCAA Championship will take place at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center May 9-11.

Women's Water Polo Eastern Championship Schedule 
Friday, April 25
Game 1: No. 1 Michigan (30-9) vs. No. 8 Mercyhurst (14-6), 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Princeton (18-10) vs. No. 5 Bucknell (25-8), 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Hartwick (25-10) vs. No. 7 Brown (14-14), 2 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Indiana (19-14) vs. No. 6 Maryland (21-14), 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 26
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 5 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 8 p.m.

Sunday, April 27
Seventh Place: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 9 a.m.
Third Place: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10:30 a.m.
First Place: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 12 p.m.
Fifth Place: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 1:30 p.m.