2025 Men's Water Polo

Men's Water Polo Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

MEN'S WATER POLO SEASON PREVIEW: Golden Knights Look to Continue Improvement in Third Season Under Sadikovic

ERIE, Pa. – Former Gannon standout Zarco Sadikovic enters his third season as head coach looking to continue an upward trend in victories. The Golden Knights posted a 12-10 record his first season and improved to 16-7 a year ago.
 
The 2025 season included a seven-game winning streak, the longest since a 10-game winning streak in 2019. The 16 wins were the most since the 2019 squad finished with an 18-4 record.
 
Year number three should feature plenty of excitement with plenty of firepower and talent returning. Gannon returns three All-WWPA performers back. All three scored over 45 goals, with Nikiforos Liantziris (Athens, Greece/) and Petar Markovic (Belgrade, Serbia/) earning second team All-WWPA accolades and Alexandros Kotskar (Voula, Greece/Athinaiki Agogh) being named to the honorable mention squad. Liantziris also earned a spot on the WWPA All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team.
 
Sadikovic likes what he sees in his 2025 edition. I think our strengths are our depth and versatility," he related. "We have a deep and skillful team this year, therefore everyone contributes."
 
The biggest question will be who takes the place of Alvaro Marco (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega y Gasset) in goal. Marco was also an honorable mention All-WWPA choice a year ago. "We will miss Alvaro's skillset and leadership in the game, however, we have very good returning goalies Bator and Hewson as well as new addition to the team from overseas, Djordje Stefanovic ()," Sadikovic pointed out.
 
Gannon opens the 2025 season this weekend at the Bruno Classic. The Golden Knights will play four matches with three against nationally-ranked teams. On Saturday Gannon opens against host Brown, ranked 17th in the 2025 Men's Varsity Preseason Top 25, at 1:00 p.m. then return to the pool at 4:30 p.m. to face Iona. The Golden Knights then return to the Bruno Classic on Sunday, with both matches played at Harvard. They face host Harvard, tied for 18th nationally, at 9:00 a.m. and wrap up the tournament against MIT, ranked seventh in the Men's Varsity Division II poll, at 2:00 p.m.
 
2024 Record: 16-7
2024 WWPA record: 2-2, fourth at WWPA Championships
 
2025 Schedule | 2025 Roster | 2024 Final Statistics
 
PSAC Preseason Poll
Gannon was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West preseason poll for the fourth straight year. Three years ago, the Golden Knights surprised the experts, finishing in a tie for first place in the Western Division. Last year they finished in a tie with Indiana (Pa.) for third place in the division.

Head Coach:  Zarko Sadikovic (28-17, 3rd year)
A former standout for the Golden Knights, Sadikovic returned to his alma mater in 2023 and led Gannon to a 12-10 finish. Last year the Golden Knights improved to 16-7. Sadikovic coaches both the men's and women's water polo teams at Gannon.
 
Key Returnees:
Nikiforos Liantziris (Athens, Greece/) (Driver, So.) – the native of Greece enjoyed an impressive freshman season earning second team All-WWPA accolades along with being named to the WWPA All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team. He was later selected a first team ACWPC All-American. Liantziris accounted for a team-high 90 points on 49 goals and 41 assists.
 
Petar Markovic (Belgrade, Serbia/) (Center, Jr.) – Liantziris was joined on the All-WWPA second team by Markovic, a native of Serbia who was also in his first season with the Golden Knights. The junior led Gannon with 63 goals, adding 14 assists for 77 points.
 
Alexandros Kotskar (Voula, Greece/Athinaiki Agogh) (Attacker, Sr.) – Kotskar has enjoyed a highly-decorated career and ranks among the leading career scorers. A year ago the senior from Greece contributed 52 goals and 17 assists for 69 points. He now has 221 career goals. A 2023 ACWPC Division II First Team All-American and honorable mention All-WWPA selection a year ago, Kotskar scored a school-record 99 goals as a sophomore and has 221 career goals.
 
Victor Volant (Fuveau, France/) (Utility, So.) – Volant was another one of the impressive 2024 recruits, hailing from France. He finished with 29 goals and 19 assists for 48 points.
 
Bator Mohacsi (Budapest, Hungary/) (Goalkeeper, So.) – while serving as a backup to starter Alvaro Marco (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega y Gasset) in goal the native of Hungary was named to the WWPA All-Freshman team. He finished with an 11.06 GAA while appearing in seven matches.
 
Gannon Hosts WWPA Championships at SPIRE
Gannon will serve as the host of the 2025 WWPA Championships on Friday, November 21 to Sunday, November 23. The WWPA Championships will be held at The SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Sadikovic on the 2025 Schedule
"I think we have a solid schedule this year and I'm excited to play some of the teams that we haven't faced before, such as Air Force Academy. We are opening the season with a Labor Day weekend at Brown University and will play two more games at Harvard the next day.  Besides the two conference weekends that we have at Salem an McKendree, we are hosting Division I US Naval Academy on October 18 as well as our conference finals in November.  It's a very exciting season ahead of us and our Golden Knights are eager to start."
 
Season Opener:
at Bruno Classic hosted by Brown University
Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31
 
Home Opener:
Erie Invitational at Hallman Aquatics Center
Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28
 
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Players Mentioned

Alvaro Marco

#1 Alvaro Marco

GK
5' 10"
Senior
Alexandros Kotskar

#10 Alexandros Kotskar

A
6' 0"
Senior
Nikiforos Liantziris

#9 Nikiforos Liantziris

D
5' 11"
Sophomore
Petar Markovic

#6 Petar Markovic

C
6' 3"
Junior
Bator Mohacsi

#1 Bator Mohacsi

GK
6' 5"
Sophomore
Victor Volant

#12 Victor Volant

U
6' 5"
Sophomore
Djordje Stefanovic

#1B Djordje Stefanovic

GK
6' 0"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Alvaro Marco

#1 Alvaro Marco

5' 10"
Senior
GK
Alexandros Kotskar

#10 Alexandros Kotskar

6' 0"
Senior
A
Nikiforos Liantziris

#9 Nikiforos Liantziris

5' 11"
Sophomore
D
Petar Markovic

#6 Petar Markovic

6' 3"
Junior
C
Bator Mohacsi

#1 Bator Mohacsi

6' 5"
Sophomore
GK
Victor Volant

#12 Victor Volant

6' 5"
Sophomore
U
Djordje Stefanovic

#1B Djordje Stefanovic

6' 0"
Sophomore
GK