ERIE, Pa. — The Gannon University men’s water polo team ran its winning streak to three straight games with a pair of Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-West Region wins as the Golden Knights handed Salem an 18-15 defeat in their first contest, then posted a 14-8 victory over Washington & Jefferson College at the Hallman Aquatics Center at the Prep-Villa Events Center. The victories improve Gannon to 4-3 on the season.
Facing Salem in the league opener for both teams, Gannon jumped out to a comfortable early lead. However, the Golden Knights found themselves trailing 13-12 with 4:44 remaining in the fourth quarter as Salem scored three straight goals to eliminate a 12-10 Gannon lead.
Gannon rallied with the next four goals as Tony Squeglia (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) scored at the 4:29 mark to knot the score at 13-all before Drago Marjanovic (Belgrade, Serbia/North Allegheny (Pa.)) followed with a goal 15 seconds later to give Gannon the lead for good at 14-13. Tim Baer (Oceanside, Calif./Classical Academy) and Marjanovic boosted the Gannon lead to 16-13.
Marjanovic found the back of the net seven times along with a pair of assists for nine points, while Squeglia posted three goals and four assists. David Gallion (Arlington, Va./Homeschool) and Baer both chipped in two markers, while Marty Kaverman Jr. (Erie, Pa./McDowell), Robert Bolmanski (Fairview, Pa./McDowell), Ethan Hamp (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) and Vlad Mickic (Subotica, Serbia /Nikola Tesla) each found the back of the cage once.
Kaverman and Dylan Schmitzerle (Richmond, Va.) were both credited with two assists.
Jacob Hollo (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and Alvaro Marco (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega y Gasset) split time in cage, with Hollo recording seven saves in the first half and Marco racking up 10 over the final 16 minutes.
Taking on the Presidents of Washington & Jefferon in the nightcap, the Golden Knights ran their winning streak to three straight wins with a strong defensive effort.
Hollo and Marco again split time evenly in goal, recording 12 and 9 saves, respectively.
Hamp provided the offensive firepower as the redshirt senior dented the twine five times. That included the first two goals of the contest as Gannon never trailed, leading 4-2 after one quarter, 8-3 at the half, and 10-5 heading into the final eight minutes.
Schmitzerle and Thomas Uht (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) both contributed two goals, with Kaverman, Ben Fribourg (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore), Seth Johnson (Sugar Hill, Ga./Lanier), Bolmanski and Mickic all adding one goal.
Squeglia distributed four assists and Kaverman handed out a pair in a game during which both the Golden Knights and Presidents notched 32 shots.
Release courtesy Gannon University Athletics Communications
