BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Changes are announced for the Winter 2021 Winter Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-Eastern Region, Southern Section schedule for the upcoming men’s water polo season.
Due to Johns Hopkins University electing not to compete during the Winter 2021 season, the MAWPC-Eastern Region, Southern Section schedule is adjusted as the group moves from a four to three team field.
Bucknell University, George Washington University and the United States Naval Academy remain in the grouping and will contest a nine-game regular season slate prior to a pair of Northern-Southern Section crossover events on Saturday, February 27, at sites to be determined.
The league slate starts at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 12, at The St. James Aquatic Center in Springfield, Va., as host George Washington aims to sink Navy. The weekend continues at Navy in Annapolis, Md., as the Midshipmen host the defending MAWPC Champion Bison of Bucknell University at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 13. Action returns to The St. James at 7:00 p.m. on February 13 as the Colonials of GW battle Bucknell.
On Sunday, February 14, Navy will aim to shoot down George Washington as the Midshipmen host the Colonials for a pair of games at Noon and 4:00 p.m.
A week later, the double-dips continue as Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pa., is the site of back-to-back pairs with the Bison meeting Navy at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 20, prior to concluding the regular season with a duo against George Washington at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 21.
The order of finish will determine the location of the teams next contests as the runner-up and Third Place finisher in the Northern Section face the Southern Section champion in round robin games on Saturday, February 27, while the Northern Section champion battles the runner-up and Third Place finisher from the Southern Section. Host sites for the pair of round-robin battles will be determined at a later date.
The three Northern Section teams (Fordham University, Iona College, La Salle University) along with the Southern Section trio of Bucknell, GW and Navy and the top two teams from the MAWPC-Western Region Championship will conclude the league season on Saturday-Sunday, March 6-7, at Lejeune Hall on the grounds of the Naval Academy for the seven-game MAWPC Championship. Seeding for the MAWPC Championship will be conducted via a poll of the league’s Governance Council.
The victor of the MAWPC Championship earns an automatic bid to the Winter 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship slated for March 18, 20 and 21 on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. A finalized format for the NCAA Championship is pending as the Golden Coast Conference, MAWPC, NWPC, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) were all awarded automatic bids for a six team championship. However, both the NWPC and SCIAC have elected not to compete in conference schedules and the Golden Coast Conference does not meet the minimum number of teams to retain its bid, dropping the championship field down to three bids (MAWPC, MPSF, WWPA). A determination from the NCAA regarding the championship field – with the potential for an at-large team to earn a spot – is pending.
