BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division II Eastern Championship and the Division III Eastern Championship will both occur on Friday-Sunday, October 21-23, at David M. Hallman III Aquatics Center in Erie, Pa.
Originally slated to be hosted by Penn State Behrend (Division III) of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and Gannon University (Division II) of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC), the CWPA Division II Eastern Championship and Division III Championship will now both occur a Hallman.
The CWPA Division II Eastern Championship will pit the host Golden Knights of Gannon versus the Lakers of Mercyhurst University, the Bearcats of McKendree University and the Tigers of Salem University of the MAWPC in a six-game event to determine East Coast Division II bragging rights.
Competition for the Division II Eastern Championship starts on Friday, October 21, as Gannon and Mercyhurst meet at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, October 22, a trio of games will occur at 9:20 a.m., 1:20 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. The championship and Third Place games are slated for 2:20 p.m. and 3:40 p.m., respectively, on Sunday, October 23.
The Division III Eastern Championship will feature a clash of conferences as Washington & Jefferson College, Austin College, Augustana College and host Penn State Behrend of the MPSF will seek to make history against Johns Hopkins University of the MAWPC along with Connecticut College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) of the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC).
In the history of the Division III Eastern tournament, Hopkins holds 19 Division III crowns (1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021) in 28 title games with losses in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2010, 2014 and 2018. Hopkins did not compete in two Division III Championships as the Blue Jays’ missed the championship game in 2007 and 2016 by not attending the event.
MIT is a nine-time champion (1991, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018) as the duo of the Blue Jays and Engineers rate as the only active Division III programs to hold a Division III Eastern crown. Overall, former varsity team Washington & Lee University defeated Johns Hopkins in 1992 and 1993 in the second and third Division III tournaments for the only titles not held by either the Blue Jays or Engineers.
The Division III Eastern Championship title game holds significant weight for all seven programs as the top two finishers punch tickets to the 2022 USA Water Polo Division III Championship versus the top-two finishing teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Slated for December 2-4, the event will be hosted on the East Coast for the first time following the 2019 (at Whittier College) and 2021 (at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges) events being hosted by the SCIAC Champion.
Division III competition begins on Saturday, October 22, as the No. 1 seed faces the No. 5 seed at 8:00 a.m. prior to the No. 2-vs.-No. 7, No. 3-vs.-No. 6 and No. 4-vs.-No. 5 contests occurring at 10:40 a.m., Noon and 2:40 p.m., respectively. The day concludes with the Loser of Game 2-vs.-Loser of Game 3, the No. 1 seed-vs.-No. 4 seed and the Winner of Game 2-vs.-Winner Game 3 at 4:00 p.m., 6:40 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., respectively.
On Sunday, October 23, four Division III games are on tap as the Loser of Game 2 faces Third in Bracket A at 9:00 a.m. before the Third Place game pitting the Loser of Game 7-vs.-Second in Bracket A at 10:20 a.m. Third in Bracket A meets the Loser of Game 3 at 11:40 a.m. to conclude a round-robin to establish the No. 5, 6 and 7 finishers, before First in Bracket A tangles with the Winner of Game 7 for the Division III Eastern title.
