2019 Men’s Collegiate Club Mid-Atlantic Division Schedule
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2019 Men’s Collegiate Club Mid-Atlantic Division A and B schedules.
Divided into A and B divisions based on the level of play among the programs, the Mid-Atlantic Division will celebrate its 25th season as part of the CWPA and is made up of Carnegie Mellon University, Drexel University, Pennsylvania State University “A”, Pennsylvania State University “B”, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh and Villanova University in the “A” group, while Albright College, Bucknell University, Lehigh University, Saint Joseph’s University, West Chester University, newcomer Rutgers University and an exhibition team from Bloomsburg University comprise the “B” group.
The division championship has previously been captured by Pennsylvania (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013), Penn State (1998, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), the University of Richmond (1999), Villanova (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2018) and Slippery Rock University (2006). Further, the “B” Championship has been claimed by Delaware (2015, 2016) and West Chester (2017, 2018) over the past four seasons.
The Mid-Atlantic is divided into two divisions based on ability. Teams play eight regular season games which determines their seed at their respective division championship. The “A” Division teams have voted that only one of their matches against the team they play twice will count towards regular season standings. The game that does not count is denoted as “exhibition” in the schedule.
The victor of the Mid-Atlantic “B” Division has the right to compete in the Mid-Atlantic “A” Division Championship as the No. 8 seed.
The victor of the “A” Division championship earns an automatic berth to the 2019 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship slated to be hosted by the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Friday-Sunday, November 15-17. Pitt is the lone team that is a lock to make the National Collegiate Club Championship as the host institution. If Pitt wins the Mid-Atlantic Division “A” Championship, then the runner-up from the division championship will advance to the 16-team National Collegiate Club Championship as the No. 16 seed. Otherwise, the division champion will assume the Mid-Atlantic Division champions berth and the Panthers will hold the No. 16 spot in the field.
Further, Carnegie Mellon is guaranteed to make the 2019 Men’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship if the team can host the event. Currently, the Tartans are penciled in to host the championship on Saturday-Sunday, October 26-27, in Pittsburgh, Pa. Due to scheduling, the possibility of the Division III Club Championship moving to Saturday-Sunday, November 2-3, and/or to another institution remains on the table as teams should check with the league office in September regarding a finalized date and site.
