Sept. 7, 2007

LEWISBURG, Pa. - After vaulting to No. 13 in the latest national rankings, the Bucknell men's water polo team gets back to action this weekend when it plays at the Princeton Invitational. The Bison will take on Fordham and Iona on Saturday and Mercyhurst and Queens on Sunday.

Bucknell enters the weekend with a 2-1 record, having defeated then-No. 13 Pacific and Queens at the Navy Labor Day Open last week. The only loss came to No. 2 Cal in a contest in which the Bison held a 3-2 lead after the first quarter, before falling 11-7.

Bucknell Men's Water Polo Notebook
Bucknell Recently
- Sept. 1: L, 11-7 vs. No. 2 California
  Sept. 1: W, 10-5 vs. No. 13 Pacific
- Sept. 2: W, 17-11 vs. Queens

Bucknell Notes
- Bucknell moved up to No. 13 in the latest national rankings. The Bison had not been ranked that high during an in-season poll since 1985 when they were ranked 12th. Bucknell had been No. 9 in the 1994 preseason poll.

- While Bucknell is ranked 13th in the nation, they stand third in the CWPA Top 10. Only Navy and St. Francis (N.Y.), the CWPA's representatives in the last two NCAA Championships, are ahead of the Bison in the CWPA poll.

- Senior co-captain Jason Rechel netted his 100th career goal last weekend during the loss to California. He now has 105 career goals, second-most among current Bison to Mark Masterson's 117. Rechel's 174 career points pace current Bucknell players, four better than Masterson.

- Bucknell's victory over Pacific ended a seven-game losing streak to ranked opponents for the Bison. The last time they defeated a ranked foe was against No. 19 Redlands last October at the Claremont Convergence.

- Bucknell had strong performances in the second half last weekend, outscoring its opponents 19-3 after intermission, including 10-0 in the fourth quarter.

- With 17 goals in its win over Queens, Bucknell netted at least that many goals in a game for the fourth time in the last two years. The last time the Bison won by at least the 16 goals they defeated Queens by was in 2004 when they also downed Knights, but by a 21-3 score.

- Freshman Richie Hyden made an immediate impact on the first weekend of his collegiate career. He netted four goals and two assists. His six points rank him tied for third on the team with senior co-captain Kyle Roslyn, who has three goals and three assists.

About the Opponents
- Bucknell's four opponents this weekend enter the Princeton Invitational with a combined record of 6-6. Fordham (2-1) and Iona (2-2) both have a pair of wins, while Mercyhurst (1-0) and Queens (1-3) have each picked up one victory this season.

- Bucknell has had success against its four weekend opponents. The Bison are a combined 51-19 all-time against the four squads and own the advantage against each. Bucknell is 28-2 against Fordham, 18-16 against Iona, 4-1 against Queens and 1-0 against Mercyhurst, with that first-ever meeting occurring last year at the Southern Championships.

Bucknell Schedule at Princeton Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 8
Bucknell vs. Fordham, 12:30 p.m.
Bucknell vs. Iona, 4 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 9
Bucknell vs. Mercyhurst, 1:10 p.m.
Bucknell vs. Queens, 4:40 p.m.