Bucknell Women's Water Polo Opens Eastern Championship Friday Morning vs. George Washington - BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Bucknell Women's Water Polo Opens Eastern Championship Friday Morning vs. George Washington

Bison and Colonials Will Play Opening Game of Three-Day Event

Tara Murao

April 26, 2012

Eastern Championship Ticket/Video Broadcast Information

In the Herd: Eastern Championship Preview video camera

In the Herd: Eastern Championship Preview

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The weekend of the Eastern Championship has arrived for the Bucknell women's water polo team. The Bison will travel to Providence, R.I., on Thursday and begin competition at the three-day event Friday at 9 a.m. against conference rival George Washington. The 12-team tournament will take place at Brown's Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.

Bucknell is the eighth seed in the field, while George Washington is the No. 9 seed. The winner of their matchup will take on top-seeded and nationally ranked Michigan at 3:40 p.m. on Friday. The winner of that contest moves on to Saturday's semifinals at 7:20 p.m. Sunday's championship game is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start.

Princeton, the winner of the Southern Championships, which was held at Kinney Natatorium two weeks ago, earned the No. 2 seed in the field. CWPA Western Division teams Indiana (No. 3), Maryland (No. 4) and Hartwick (No. 5) round out the top five seeds. Each of those five teams are also nationally ranked as Michigan is No. 10, Indiana is No. 12, Princeton is No. 13, Maryland is No. 14 and Hartwick is No. 17.

Bucknell Women's Water Polo Notebook (14-21, 2-3 CWPA)
• Bucknell will be competing in its 11th consecutive Eastern Championship. The Bison's best finish at the Eastern Championship was a fourth-place showing in 2006, the last time Brown hosted the event. Bucknell has finished 11th, 8th, 7th, 7th, 4th, 7th, 6th, 8th, 5th and 7th the last 10 years.

• Bucknell is 6-8 this year against the Eastern Championship field. The Bison were 4-0 against first-round opponent George Washington.

• Thirteenth-seeded Salem International will not be competing at the Eastern Championship. Teams that were scheduled to play them will receive 5-0 forfeit wins. The absence of Salem International will not adjust the weekend schedule.

• Bucknell has faced 12 ranked opponents this season.

• The winner of this weekend's Eastern Championship earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship, which will take place May 11-13 in San Diego, Calif.

• Bucknell first-year head coach John McBride spent the previous seven years as head coach at Brown, the site of the Eastern Championship. The Bison will be playing at Brown for the first time since the 2006 Eastern Championship.

• It is a tight race between sophomore Julianne Valdes and senior Hallie Kennan for the team lead in points. Valdes has 100 points as she is just the fourth different player in program history to reach that plateau, while Kennan has a career-high 96 points, which ranks ninth on the school's single-season list.

• Freshman Taylor Barnett leads the Bison in goals with 63 this year. That figure ranks seventh in Bison single-season history, just 12 behind Aubrey Rowe's standard. Barnett also has a team-high 74 ejections drawn, the No. 5 total in school annals.

• Valdes continues to be amazing at winning sprints. The Miami, Fla., native has captured 69 of 84 sprints this season, including 39 of 41 over the last 12 games. She now ranks third on the program's single-season list for sprints won, while her .821 winning percentage is the best in program history.

• Bucknell is averaging 12.9 goals per game in its 14 victories and 7.0 goals per game in its 21 losses.

• Sophomore goalie Rena Heim has posted 12 double-figure save performances this year and her career-high 261 stops place her fourth on the program's single-season ledger. She now ranks fifth in career saves (384), just six behind fourth-place Kristen D'Agostino.

Bucknell's Weekly Awards in 2012
CWPA Southern Division Player of the Week
- Julianne Valdes (Feb. 27)
CWPA Southern Division Rookie of the Week
- Taylor Barnett (April 9)
Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week
- Taylor Barnett (April 9)

Bison on Season Record Lists
Taylor Barnett: Goals (7th, 63), Ejections Drawn (5th, 74), Shots (5th, 152)
Rena Heim: Saves (4th, 261)
Hallie Kennan: Points (9th, 96), Assists (6th, 49)
Julianne Valdes: Points (t-6th, 100), Assists (t-8th, 45), Sprints (3rd, 69), Sprint % (1st, .821), Shots (t-7th, 147)

Bison on Career Record Lists
Brittany Connell: Saves (7th, 219)
Rena Heim: Saves (5th, 384)
Hallie Kennan: Points (5th, 291), Goals (6th, 173), Assists (5th, 118), Shots (5th, 455), Games Played (t-6th, 128)
Tara Murao: Ejections Drawn (7th, 91)
Stephanie Ovalle: Sprints (8th, 40)
Amanda Skonezney: Sprints (1st, 149), Games Started (10th, 101)
Julianne Valdes: Ejections Drawn (t-8th, 90), Sprints (4th, 69)

Bucknell vs. Weekend Opponents
• Michigan: 0-15 (Michigan won lone meeting this year, 12-7)
• Princeton: 5-32 (Princeton has a four-game winning streak in the series)
• Indiana: 2-6 (Indiana has won three in a row after Bucknell won back-to-back one-goal games in 2006 and 2008)
• Maryland: 19-11 (Three of last five meetings decided by one goal)
• Hartwick: 1-10 (Bucknell's lone win came in 2005; Hawks have won six in a row in the series)
• Brown: 5-12 (Teams have split last four meetings)
• Harvard: 8-11 (Harvard has captured all four meetings the last two years, including last year at Eastern Championship)
• George Washington: 30-15 (Bison have won five in a row, including all four meetings this year)
• Mercyhurst: 5-1 (Bucknell has won two meetings this year by combined 23-10 margin)
• Gannon: 9-0 (Bucknell won both meetings last year by combined 37-7 score)
• Notre Dame College: 0-0

Up Next
• The winner of the Eastern Championship earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship, which will be held May 11-13 in San Diego, Calif. San Diego State is this year's host school.

Eastern Championship Schedule
Friday, April 27
Game 1 - 8th seed Bucknell vs. 9th seed George Washington, 9 a.m.
Game 2 - 4th seed Maryland vs. 13th seed Salem International, 5-0 forfeit
Game 3 - 5th seed Hartwick vs. 12th seed Notre Dame, 11:40 a.m.
Game 4 - 6th seed Brown vs. 11th seed Gannon, 1 p.m.
Game 5 - 7th seed Harvard vs. 10th seed Mercyhurst, 2:20 p.m.
Game 6 - 1st seed Michigan vs. Winner Game 1, 3:40 p.m.
Game 7 - Maryland vs. Winner Game 3, 5 p.m.
Game 8 - 3rd seed Indiana vs. Winner Game 4, 6:20 p.m.
Game 9 - 2nd seed Princeton vs. Winner Game 5, 7:40 p.m.

Saturday, April 28
Game 10 - Loser Game 3 vs. Salem International, 5-0 forfeit
Game 11 - Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 4, 11:20 a.m.
Game 12 - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 6, 12:40 p.m.
Game 13 - Loser Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9, 2 p.m.
Game 14 - Loser Game 1 vs. Winner Game 10, 3:20 p.m.
Game 15 - Loser Game 11 vs. Salem International, 5-0 forfeit
Game 16 - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 8, 6 p.m.
Game 17 - Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, 7:20 p.m.

Sunday, April 29
11th Place - Winner Game 15 vs. Loser Game 14, 9 a.m.
9th Place - Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 11, 10:30 a.m.
7th Place - Loser Game 13 vs. Loser Game 12, 12 p.m.
5th Place - Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13, 1:30 p.m.
3rd Place - Loser Game 16 vs. Loser Game 17, 3 p.m.
1st Place - Winner Game 17 vs. Winner Game 16, 4:30 p.m.