MOUNT ST. MARY'S at NAVY INVITATIONAL
Saturday, September 4^th | Princeton, 10:30 a.m. | UC Davis, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 5^th | Salem, 9:15 a.m. | Iona, 2:15 p.m.
Annapolis, Md. | Lejeune Hall and Scott Natatorium
 
EMMITSBURG, Md. (September 3, 2021) – Mount St. Mary's men's water polo opens the 2021 season – its first full campaign of competition – with four games at the Navy Invitational. As the team transitions to the Division I-centric Mid-Atlantic Water Polo East, they will challenge a wide range of new foes, including three this weekend.

Saturday's contests are set to be played at Lejeune Hall, the home of Navy's water polo team, with Sunday's games at Scott Natatorium. Updates of live video feeds will be made available at the team's online schedule and Twitter feed if and when they are established.

MOUNT UPDATE

In their inaugural season, the Mount men competed in the MAWPC West, finishing third out of six squads with a 5-4 mark. Jason O'Donnell earned All-American status after scoring 50 goals in eight games, and Eli Thalos and Marko Kruska were named All-MAWPC players.

All three return for year two, joined by a second trio of teammates from year one. Nine players are set to make their first appearances as Mountaineers during the weekend.

The squad faces a schedule of 29 games this fall, with the regular season ending in mid-November.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Princeton and UC Davis both sat out the 2020-21 season, following successful 2019 campaigns. The Tigers went 16-15 in their latest game action and are returning leading scorer Mitchell Cooper, who scored 78 points (42 goals, 36 assists). For the Aggies, they went 16-8 with a perfect 7-0 in conference play but will be without their top point getter Yurii Hanley, who graduated after the season.

Sunday's opponents had rough goings in the shortened winter 2021 campaign. Salem went 1-5 while Iona went 0-4. Sophomore Ivan Zivojinovic scored 24 points for the Tigers, 21 of them goals. The Gaels received eight goals from three players, including Lester Machado, who added eight assists for a total of 16 points.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The only opponent the Mount has faced in the field is Salem, with a 2-0 mark against the Tigers.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Next weekend features games in Erie, Pennsylvania, with Penn State Behrend, Gannon and Mercyhurst all on the schedule.