LEBANON, Ill. – The McKendree University men's water polo team closes out the home portion of 2022 schedule here this weekend as they host Gannon, Mercyhurst and Salem for a CWPA Conference Weekend at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex in O'Fallon, Ill.

McKendree, who is sporting a 3-16 overall record and an 0-7 mark in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Confernece, will open the weekend with a 1:30 p.m. game on Nov. 5 against Gannon, before facing Mercyhurst on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 6, the Bearcats will conclude the weekend with a 10:30 a.m. game against Salem University.

Prior to Sunday's game, the Bearcats will honor their four seniors in a pregame ceremony. The four seniors that will be honored are Tristen Clue (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills), Connor Pulido (Chicago Ridge, Ill./Richards), Nico Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia/Oviedo) and Tony Sunagawa (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills).

This will be the second time this season that all three of these teams have met each other in the pool as they all faced one another on Oct. 22-23 at the CWPA Division II Eastern Championships in Erie, Pa.

The Bearcats haven't played since picking up a 13-6 win over Merychurst on Oct. 23 to complete play in the CWPA Division II Eastern Championships. In fact, two of McKendree's three wins this season have come against Mercyhurst as along with the 13-6 win at the CWPA Division II Eastern Championships, the Bearcats also defeated the Lakers 21-12 at the Bucknell Invitational on Sept. 18. McKendree's other win was a 12-7 victory over Augustana (Ill.) to open the 2022 campaign.

Leading the way offensively for the Bearcats is Rodriguez, who has scored a team-high 33 goals and has added 44 assists. In addition to Rodriguez, freshman center/utility player Cale Koester (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) has scored 27 goals, while graduate student attacker Josh Carlson (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) and junior center/utility player Breno Tebet (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Golden West College) have each scored 26 goals on the year.

Along with Rodriguez's 44 assists, Sunagawa is second on the team with 20 assists, while Carlson has had 18 and sophomore attacker Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) has added 15 assists.

Defensively, Bishop has collected a team-best 20 steals, while Rodriguez and Sunagawa have each had 13 and Carlson has collected 11. A fifth Bearcat, Tebet, has had 10 steals on the season.

Junior goalkeeper Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill./Metea Valley) has recorded 182 saves in goal this season for the Bearcats.

At the CWPA Division II Eastern Championships, Carlson and Tebet were each named to the All-Tournament Team as Carlson led the way with nine goals in three games and added an assist, while Tebet scored five goals and had an assist in each of McKendree's three games.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Gannon, who were the runners-up at this year's CWPA Division II Eastern Championships, enters the weekend sporting a 6-13 overall record and a 1-6 mark in the MAWPC. Alex Kotskar paces the Golden Knights offense as he has scored 70 goals and has had 23 assists on the year. Drago Marjanovic is second on the team in scoring with 31 goals and 36 assists and Marty Kaverman Jr. is third in points (59) and second in goals with 36. In goal, Alvaro Marco and Jacob Hollo continue to share duties as Hollo has a 14.97 goals allowed average and Marco has a 17.05 goals allowed average.  

Mercyhurst comes into the weekend sporting a 2-17 overall record and an 0-7 mark in the MAWPC. The Lakers have lost six straight games since picking up a win at home against Penn State Behrend. Danilo Vujovic leads the way offensively for Mercyhurst with 38 goals, while Reed Bearden has added 15 goals. Teagan Thomas leads in assists with 15 and has added 14 goals. Tony Golin has recorded 191 saves in goal for the Lakers.

Salem, who won this year's CWPA Division II Eastern Division Championship, comes into the weekend sporting a 12-11 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the MAWPC. Salem is a high scoring team as they have 352 goals in 23 games with Nikola Krstonsic leading the way with 95 goals and 66 assists. In addition to Krstonsic, Marko Zivojinovic has scored 60 goals and has added 46 assists, while Ivan Zivojinovic has had 56 goals and 18 assists. Julen Alonso leads Salem's goalies with 144 saves, while Duarte Costa has had 109 saves.

UP NEXT FOR McKENDREE
Following this weekend's three game at home, the Bearcats will conclude the 2022 regular season next Saturday, Nov. 12 as they travel to Rock Island, Ill., for a 1 p.m. game at Augustana College.

MAWPC CONFERENCE WEEKEND SCHEDULE @McKendree Metro Rec Plex Pool
Saturday, Nov. 5
1:30 p.m.        McKendree vs. Gannon (Pa.)
3 p.m.              Salem (W.Va.) vs. Mercyhurst (Pa.)
6 p.m.              McKendree vs. Mercyhurst (Pa.)
7:30 p.m.         Salem (W.Va.) vs. Gannon (Pa.)
Sunday, Nov. 6
9 a.m.              Mercyhurst (Pa.) vs. Gannon (Pa.)
10:30 a.m.       McKendree vs. Salem (W.Va.)