BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Kiefer Black (Fr., San Diego, Calif./La Jolla) of No. 20-ranked the United States Naval Academy posted team highs in goals (12), assists (10) and points (22) during a 4-0 league weekend for the Midshipmen to earn recognition as both the November 6 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Player and Rookie of the Week.
A five-time weekly award recipient from the league office after previously claiming notice as the September 25 MAWPC Rookie along with October 2 and 9 Player of the Week, Black helped the Mids sink Wagner College (10-8 W), Division III No. 8 Johns Hopkins University (19-14 W), Mount St. Mary’s University (19-7 W) and George Washington University (19-8 W) to lock-up the No. 2 seed for the upcoming MAWPC Championship at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium on Friday-Sunday, November 17-19, in Lewisburg, Pa.
Black tallied three hat-tricks during the week by posting four goals against Wagner to accompany trios versus both Mount St. Mary’s and George Washington.
Black now has 107 points in his rookie season as he posted the 14th 100-point season in Naval Academy water polo history. The 12th athlete in Navy history with 100 points in a season, it marks the first century mark posted by a Midshipmen since Isaac Salinas ’22 who finished with 104 in 2019. Further, Black is tied with Sean Foster ’01 for the eighth-most points in a single season at 107 and is one shy of equaling Brian Wineke ’94 who racked up 108 in 1993.
November 6 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Player of the Week Honor Roll: George Papanikolaou (Fordham University); Laszlo Strasser (Wagner College)
November 6 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Rookie of the Week Honor Roll: Barnabas Eppel (Fordham University)
