BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championship will be decided in a one-day, two-game event on Sunday, March 7, at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pa.
Competition will begin at 11:00 a.m. as No. 2 seed George Washington University will face No. 3 La Salle University prior to the MAWPC Championship title game at 3:00 p.m. versus the host/No. 9-ranked Bison.
The MAWPC-Championship was slated to be an eight-team event on Saturday-Sunday, March 6-7, at the United States Naval Academy’s Lejeune Hall with Bucknell, Fordam University, George Washington, Iona College, La Salle and Navy of the MAWPC-East, along with MAWPC-West Champion McKendree University and runner-up Gannon University. However, the Naval Academy informed the league office of their inability to host due to a campus-wide shutdown of athletics. Fordham followed on March 2 with a decision to forego the remainder of the season also due to a pandemic produced pause.
Due to the loss of the championship site at Navy, the league office contacted 45+ sites – including non-varsity institutions, recreational pools, high schools and campus sites – with Bucknell the available facility willing and capable to host a championship event.
Selections to the championship bracket by the league’s Governance Council were based on seeding of the six remaining teams (Bucknell, Gannon, George Washington, Iona, La Salle, McKendree) by won/loss records, head-to-head competition, wins against higher seeded teams, and strength of schedule. After reviewing the six teams, Bucknell, George Washington and La Salle received the No. 1-to-3 seeds and selection for participation at the truncated MAWPC Championship.
The MAWPC Championship is one of two automatic berths which will be determined with three team fields this weekend as the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championship will feature No. 8 the United States Air Force Academy taking on the victor of a game pitting host No. 7 California Baptist University versus No. 6 Loyola Marymount University.
The MAWPC, WWPA and six-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championship will determine three automatic berths to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship at the University of Southern California on March 18-21.
Similar to Bucknell, USC’s selection to host the championship as a replacement site was also brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to a variety of COVID-19 related reasons, original host Stanford University informed the NCAA that they would no longer be able to host the postponed 2020 National Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Championship. USC was selected as an alternate site with two opening round games set for March 18 at USC. The national championship semifinals will be conducted on March 20, and the national championship game will be played on March 21.
