April 21, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's water polo team has played three one-goal games against division rival Princeton this year and it will have one more chance to face the Tigers this weekend at the Eastern Championship. The Bison, who earned the No. 5 seed in the eight-team field, will meet fourth-seeded Princeton in the first round Friday at 12:30 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Bucknell and Princeton squared off in the Southern Championships title game Saturday evening at Kinney Natatorium with the Tigers winning 10-9 in overtime on a buzzer-beating goal. The teams split two regular-season meetings.

The Bison, who were the top seed at Southerns, bring a 25-8 record into the Eastern Championship. The winner of the Eastern Championship earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship, which will be held May 9-11 at Stanford.

Bucknell, which was tied with Brown at No. 20 in last week's national rankings, is one of five ranked teams that earned berths to the Eastern Championship. No. 11 Michigan is the host and top seed of the tournament, while No. 14 Hartwick, which claimed the Northern Division title this past weekend, is the second seed. No. 18 Indiana claimed the third seed, while No. 20 Brown is the seventh seed. Southern Division teams Princeton and Maryland are the fourth and sixth seeds, respectively. Mercyhurst rounded out the field as the eighth seed. Maryland and Mercyhurst claimed the two at-large berths.

This is Bucknell's seventh consecutive appearance in the Eastern Championship. It finished seventh last year, equaling the second-best showing in program history. The Bison took fourth place in 2006, marking their best-ever finish.

Should the Bison defeat Princeton on Friday afternoon, they would face the winner of the Michigan-Mercyhurst first-round matchup Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Sunday's championship contest is slated for 12 p.m. Bucknell will play three games this weekend regardless of outcomes.

The Bison are in the midst of the best season in program history. They have won a program-record 25 games and were the top seed at the Southern Championships for the first time. They have posted three winning streaks of at least six games and have lost just four games since March 13, with each by a slim one-goal margin.

Bucknell is 4-5 this year against the Eastern Championship field.

Eastern Championship Seeding (April 25-27 at Michigan's Canham Natatorium)
No. 1 - Michigan (30-9)
No. 2 - Hartwick (25-10)
No. 3 - Indiana (19-14)
No. 4 - Princeton (18-10)
No. 5 - Bucknell (25-8)
No. 6 - Maryland (21-14)
No. 7 - Brown (14-14)
No. 8 - Mercyhurst (14-6)

Eastern Championship Schedule