LEBANON, Ill. – The McKendree University men's water polo team is set to open its 2022 campaign this Saturday, Sept. 3 as the Bearcats play host to Augustana College at 1 p.m. in the pool at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex in O'Fallon, Ill.
 
Along with the men's varsity team playing Augustana on Saturday, the men's club team will also face Augustana at 4 p.m.
 
McKendree, who went 11-9 last season and captured the regular season title in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-West Division for the second straight season, welcomes back five starters from last season's team.
 
Among the starters returning are fifth year attacker Nico Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia/Oviedo), junior center defender Adam Serrano (Riverside, Calif./Poly), fifth-year attacker Tony Sunagawa (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills), graduate student attacker Josh Carlson (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way West) and sophomore attacker Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo./Brighton).
 
In addition to those returning starters, the team will have a new player manning the goal this season as junior Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill./Metea Valley) becomes the starter. Cronin replaces Ori Scanlon (Orlando, Fla./Olympia), who was the team's starter in goal the past four seasons.
 
"We are a young team and the group has gelled quickly," McKendree head water polo coach Colleen Lischwe said. "We still have a lot of work to do, but everyone is going into trainings enthusiastically and ready to work."
 
While five starters return, the team added 10 newcomers, including nine freshmen and one junior college transfer – center/utility player Breno Tebet, who is originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and arrives at McKendree after playing the past two years at Golden West College.
 
The Bearcats, who are beginning its seventh season of collegiate water polo in 2022, are scheduled to play 20 regular season matches, including 10 games in the newly expanded Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference as both the East and West Regions have merged together.
 
Lischwe, who was the 2020 MAWPC-West Division Coach of the Year, says that her team's schedule this year will be more challenging than in years past.
 
"We have a much more difficult schedule this year than we've had in years past, but our goal is to continue to be a force within the MAWPC and elevate our level of play," added Lischwe.
 
Lischwe says that her team's goals this season are communication, attitude, effort and consistency and also to maintain a unified plan for the season and in each game.
 
One of the biggest expectations that Lischwe has for her team this season is that the players continue to build a winning team culture.
 
"We have done a good job of building a winning team culture and I hope this team consistently shows up both in and out of the water," the coach stated.
 
Following Saturday's home game with Augustana, the Bearcats will travel to Lewisburg, Pa., to compete in the Bucknell Invitarional on Sept. 17-18. At the event, the Bearcats will face Mount St. Mary's and Wagner College on Sept. 17 and then faces Bucknell and Mercyhurst on Sept. 18.