LEWISBURG, Pa. — Bucknell University men’s water polo went 22-7, and 11-1 in conference games last season, but ultimately fell short of its goal of a second straight Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championship in a thrilling match against George Washington University.
Bucknell opens the season tied for 16th in the National Top 20 poll, just one spot behind the Colonials in the preseason poll.While there will be a lot of returning faces, Head Coach John McBride says there are still some new things that will be happening this season.
“We’re developing a new culture, it’s a new team, and we have a lot of freshman coming in,” said McBride.”They don’t know what that culture means just yet, but the older guys give us a good nucleus to build on.”
The six new freshman will look to give the Bison depth as they develop in their first year, and will also see significant time, according to McBride.
“There’s a learning curve for these guys, but we’re excited about Colby Paine,” McBride stated.”Jeff Brill brings some talent, and guys like Andu Vlasceanu, Will Gildea and Niki De La Sierra will definitely see some playing time. Jack Otto is our starter in goal at the moment, but with the addition of Adrien Touzot, there will be plenty of competition for that position.”
The majority of the team that lost seniors Marko Djordjevic and Bucknell Commencement Speaker Johnathan Coleman to graduation will return, and it all begins with Second Team All-America Rade Joksimovic, who returns for his final season in the Orange and Blue.
“Marko was a really good leader his senior year, and he made the most of the space afforded to him by teams trying to focus on Rade,” McBride stated. “I believe Andu is more than capable of filling that role left by Marko.”
Joksimovic scored 128 times and added 80 assists for Bucknell last season, and will look to do even more in his last season in Lewisburg. The three-time MAWPC Player of the Year joined Scott Schulte as the only Bison player to eclipse 500 points in his career last season, and also ranks second behind Schulte with 388 career goals.
“It’s not too often you get a player of Rade’s caliber,” said McBride. “The younger guys see his work ethic, and he’s a really good in the water kind of third coach. He’s a special person, he’s a special kid, and what he’s done has raised everyone else’s level of play.”
Another member of the team that is looking to build off of a tremendous junior season is senior Logan Schofield. The Maumee, Ohio native, who didn’t pick up the sport until his sophomore year of high school, broke Jack Else’s single season record of ejections drawn with 135 in his junior season. He was a First Team All-MAWPC East selection, and was named to the All-Tournament Team. His 181 ejections are the fifth-most by a Bison player since the year 2000, and he also added 46 goals, fourth-best on the team.
“Logan is a very dominant center,” said McBride. “His position is a lot like an offensive lineman in football where you may not see the impact on the stat sheet, but his mere presence allows opportunities for his teammates to succeed.”
“He’s the hardest worker on the team and he’s the fastest swimmer,” McBride continued. “He plays year round, and he has aspirations to play professionally after he is done collegiately. He’s a kid from Ohio that didn’t really play much water polo growing up, and his dedication to being great has been tremendous.”
McBride’s experienced core he says will help the team going forward, as this is a nucleus that has seen success in the 2016 MAWPC Championship, and has helped the Bison reach the 20-win mark in two out of the past three seasons.
Cooper Dolan returns from last season, as well as starters Jared Stanley and Jack Lewis. The Bison also return a good portion of their depth from last season in Scott Little, Bence Fazekas, Mitchell Scott, Kyle Poland, Matt Blackwell and Cullen Jacuzzi.
“All of those guys are familiar with what we do,” said McBride. “There’s not a lot of tactics that has to be talked about. These guys care about each other, and they know where the other will be in the pool.
“Jared is somebody that has grown into the position,” McBride added. “He’s not somebody that was highly recruited, but he’s a special player, and he’s played on the same side of the pool as Rade his whole career. He’s learned a lot from him over the years.”
“Cooper is one of the best defenders in the country, and is in a thankless position,” said McBride. “He doesn’t always get the glory, but he works really hard, and really puts in a lot of work defensively to shut down the other great centers in the league. Jack Lewis is another solid player on the left side, and he’s played year-round so he’s improved a lot as well. He’s really benefited by starting all 29 games as a freshman, and has matured since last season.”
The season begins with the Bruno Classic on Saturday, and McBride said he is looking to see where the new guys fit in for these opening games.
“It would be nice to perform well at this tournament,” McBride said. “Last year we thought we could go 0-5 in this tournament, but ended up 4-1.
There’s not really an expectation either way, it’s just getting these guys used to playing with one another and seeing what we have. It’s a long haul, and we are looking to get out of this tournament healthy.”
The MAWPC Championships will be held in Lewisburg for the first time since the 2016 season in which the Bison won the Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985. That team finished 23-5, and fell to Harvard, 13-12 in triple overtime in the first round.
Kinney Natatorium has become a fortress for the Bison, who went 9-0 last season, and have won 24 straight in their home pool.
“There’s something special about playing at Bucknell, and our fans are tremendous,” said McBride. “There’s something nice about being to rest and sleep in your own bed, there’s no better way for this senior class to end their careers than another opportunity to win an MAWPC Championship in their home pool.”
Release courtesy Bucknell University Athletics Communications
