EDITOR'S NOTE: McKendree's game against Michigan will remain on the B1G+ while the other three matches against UC Davis, Mount St. Mary's, and Indiana will stream for free on Overnght. See the "TUNE IN-FO" section below for updates links.

LEBANON, Ill. – The women's water polo team will waste no time in hitting the road once again as they head up North to take part in the Midwest Invite, which will be co-hosted by the University of Michigan and Indiana University at the Donald B. Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan from Saturday, February 14th through Sunday, February 15th. 

The Bearcats will take on No.17 University of California, Davis to open up on Saturday with an early 9:15 AM CT bout, and will follow up against No.16 Michigan later in the day at 3:15 PM CT. To wrap up on Sunday, the team will face Mount St. Mary's University at 9:30 AM CT and conclude with No.10 Indiana at 2:00 PM CT. 

All contests are expected to be streamed live and on-demand with a subscription purchase required on the B1G+, as live stats will also be provided via The FOSH. No ticket purchases are necessary for entry into the event. 

CLICK HERE to see all the information regarding the Invite on Michigan's Tournament Central Page. 

SCOUTING THE LAST OUTINGS 

It was a memorable atmosphere inside the McKendree Metro Rec Plex, where the women's water polo team left the inaugural Lischwe Memorial Invitational with an unblemished three wins that included thrilling performances both individually and as a team from February 7th to 8th in O'Fallon, Illinois. The event was named after longtime McKendree Men's and Women's Head Coach Colleen Lischwe, who passed away on January 15th of last year. 

On day one of the event, they snuck by the University of California, Merced in a non-conference bout [14-11] and later held on against the Firebirds of DIII RV Carthage College [18-16]. To wrap up on day two on Sunday, the team beat their in-state rival DIII No.5 Augustana College [12-11], which took several clutch plays to seal an undefeated weekend at home. 

Prior to the game against Carthage, last year's 2025 women's water polo team was honored with their WWPA championship rings after making historic marks that included several conference and national individual awards and a program-best 21 wins on the season. 

Before the game against Augustana, the program recognized five senior athletes, as while their time at McKendree will soon be coming to an end, they will forever be engraved as part of the Bearcat family. Those honored from this year's team were attacker Jazmine Sandoval, attacker Dylan Murphy, attacker Joey Rebelo, center defender Allie Diller, and center Megan Morris. 

HOME POOL ADVANTAGE 

In the Lischwe Memorial Invitational, senior attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Québec, Canada) led the offense with 15 points on seven goals and eight assists, plus four steals and a drawn exclusion while shooting 77.8% at the net. Junior attacker Shanelle Márquez (Madrid, Spain) and junior center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) each tabbed in 10 goals on the weekend with the former supplementing with three assists, three exclusions drawn, and a pair of takeaways on 71.4% shooting, while the latter had an assist with eight drawn exclusions and three steals with 62.5% shooting. 

McKendree utilized each of their three goalkeepers, with each playing in their own game. Sophomore Elizabeth Zurawski (San Antonio, Texas) had four saves (20.0 save percentage) and one steal against Carthage, freshman Daisy Wetherholt (Malibu, Calif.) had nine saves (45.0 save percentage) against UC Merced, and freshman Delaney Judkins (La Grange, Ill.) had seven saves (38.9 save percentage) and a pair of steals against Augustana. 

TEAM TOPPERS 

LOOKING AHEAD 

After the Midwest Invite, McKendree will have a bye weekend before rematching with DIII No.5 Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois on Saturday, February 28th. The matchup against the Vikings is slated for 2:00 PM CT at the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium. 

Live streaming and live stats are to be determined. 

TUNE IN-FO 

Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Water Polo on Instagram, X (Twitter), and TikTok. #NCAAwaterpolo 

For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 
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