Men's Water Polo 10/21/2021 10:43:00 AM Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Men's Water Polo in Search of Fourth Straight CWPA Division II Championship

ERIE, Pa. – When Gannon, McKendree, Mercyhurst and Salem converge on Cathedral Prep's Hallman Aquatics Center this weekend, the Golden Knights will be in search of their fourth straight CWPA Division II Championship. The four teams will play a round robin schedule on Saturday, October 23 and Sunday, October 24, with the champion crowned on Sunday afternoon.

The Division II Championships did not take place a year ago, but in 2019 the Golden Knights won all three of their matches to capture the crown for the third straight year after previously winning in 2018 and 2017. They have won four titles in all.

Gannon emerged as the number two seed in the championship and will face top-seed McKendree () to start the tournament on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The Golden Knights will return to the pool at 8:50 p.m. to face fourth seed and hoist Mercyhurst. Saturday's four games will all utilize seven-minute quarters.

It will be a quick turnaround for the Golden Knights as they return to action Sunday's opening contest at 9:00 a.m. against Salem, the third seed. The third-place game, pitting the teams with the third and fourth-best records, will begin at 1:00 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start with the teams with the top two records squaring off.

CWPA Division II Championship Schedule

Saturday, October 23
4:30 p.m. -- McKendree (#1) vs. GANNON (#2)
5:40 p.m. – Mercyhurst (#4) vs. Salem (#3)
7:40 p.m. – McKendree (#1) vs. Salem (#3)
8:50 p.m. – Mercyhurst (#4) vs. GANNON (#2)

Sunday, October 24
9:00 a.m. – Gannon (#2) vs. Salem (#3)
10:30 a.m. – Mercyhurst (#4) vs. McKendree (#1)
1:00 p.m. – 3^rd Place Game (third-best record vs. fourth-best record)
2:30 p.m. – Championship Game (best record vs. second-best record)

"The upcoming weekend will be a great challenge for us as we gear up for the home stretch of the season," related head coach Shane Unger. "Last weekend at Harvard was a great experience where we played some very competitive games against very good, high-level teams. I think it gives us a really good vibe going into some heavy competition against our conference rivals this weekend."

Gannon enters the weekend with a deceiving 7-8 record after losing three of four contests while stepping up in competition at the Harvard Invitational. Unger's squad dropped a 16-5 decision to 13^th-ranked Harvard before handing Connecticut College a 14-5 defeat. The Golden Knights would lose a pair of tough games on Sunday, 9-7 to a Brown team that had beaten them by seven goals to begin the season, and 12-11 in overtime to MIT, a nationally-ranked Division III squad.

McKendree owns an 8-6 record. Gannon defeated the Bearcats 15-10 in a non-conference game, with the Bearcats returning the favor in the MAWPC meeting, 11-8. Salem has a 9-11 ledger. Gannon posted an 18-15 victory over the Tigers in the conference meeting before dropping an 11-10 decision in a non-conference tilt. Gannon defeated Mercyhurst 8-1 in a MAWPC game two weeks ago. The Lakers come in with a 0-15 record.

Gannon's leading scorer is senior Drago Marjanovic (Belgrade, Serbia/North Allegheny (Pa.)) with 32 goals. Redshirt senior Tony Squeglia (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) adds 21 goals and Vlad Mickic (Subotica, Serbia /Nikola Tesla), a junior, has scored 17 goals. Eight different players have scored 10-or-more goals. Junior Jacob Hollo (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and freshman Alvaro Marco (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega y Gasset) have been sharing time in goal.

In 2019, Marjanovic, Squeglia and Hollo were named to the all-tournament team. Hollo was named the Rookie of Goalie of the tournament, while Unger was selected the coach of the tournament.

Gannon has one regular season game remaining after this weekend's CWPA Division II Championships, playing at Penn State Behrend on Friday, October 29.

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