PRINCETON, N.J. — Bucknell University overcome the loss of its starting goalie to post a 1-1 record at Princeton University during the team’s final weekend of Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) regular season competition to conclude regular season play. The Bison fell by an 18-3 count to No. 22-ranked Brown University before rallying for an 11-6 victory over Mercyhurst University to lock-up the No. 5 seed for the upcoming Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship at the University of Michigan.
The team’s final regular season games relied on the performance of a field athlete as Bucknell’s only goalkeeper Tamara Torkos missed both games due to injury. In her stead, field player Lehua Bender stepped up to fill the position and help Bucknell take the No. 5 seed ahead of No. 6 seed Mercyhurst and No. 7 seed Saint Francis University.
Bucknell – which upset host Brown by a 7-6 count in the 2025 CWPA Championship opening round – saw the the Bears exact their revenge with an 18-3 victory. Brown took full advantage of Bucknell’s goalkeeper situation and ran away with the crucial conference win which allowed Brown to claim at least the No. 4 seed for the upcoming championship tournament. Addison Wedding and Ava Bayne shot a combined three-for-three as the rest of the Bison squad went zero-for-13.
Brown did not waste time and claimed an 8-0 after the first quarter to bury Bucknell.
Wedding scored a single goal in the second quarter but Brown added five more to acquire a commanding 13-1 margin by halftime.
The Bison tallied twice via strikes by Bayne and Wedding in the third quarter, but the Bears tallied five more cage-finders to win 18-3.
In game to determine the No. 5 and 6 seeds for the CWPA Championship – with both teams entering the contest with 1-4 conference marks – Bender held down the fort with five saves and eight different Bison scored goals. in permitting Bucknell to overcome Mercyhurst and gain the No. 5 seed for the CWPA Championship on April 10-12
The Lakers – which falls to 1-5 in league action to take the No. 6 seed in front of Saint Francis University (0-6) – jumped out to a 2-1 lead and looked ready to stake a claim for the No. 5 seed.
However, the Bison rallied from the initial shock to tie the game at four-all by halftime thanks to markers by Olivia Hopper, Lin Naraoka and Caitlin Stott.
The Bison used a 3-0 third quarter to permanently establish the lead as Campbell Collins, Olivia Garcia and Naraoka supplied the scoring.
The Orange & Blue scored four insurance goals, two by Britta Coultas and one each from Hopper and Gwen Kallmeyer, in the final period to blunt Mercyhurst’s two goal charge.
Information courtesy Bucknell University Athletics Communications
