LEBANON, Ill. – The men's water polo team will look to pick up their first win of the season as they head Eastward to compete in the W&J Invitational on Saturday, September 5th and Sunday, September 6th at the Henry Memorial Natatorium on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. 

Saturday has McKendree facing off against Michigan State University's collegiate club team in an exhibition bout at 12:30 PM CT and will take on Wheaton College (Mass.) in the first-ever meeting against the Lyons at 6:20 PM. Then, on Sunday, the Bearcats look to take on Connecticut College early at 7:00 AM CT and Penn State Behrend at 9:20 AM CT. 

All contests will be streamed live and on-demand on the PAC Digital Network. No live stats will be provided at the event, but a box score will be uploaded after the matches. A tournament central for the W&J Invitational can be found HERE for the schedule of events. 

SCOUTING THE LAST OUTING 

The team started their 2026 campaign 0-6 in La Jolla, California over the weekend at the annual Triton Invitational. McKendree was unable to come away with any victories as they battled a plethora of top-15 teams. On day one, they fell to No.7 Long Beach State University [9-28] and No.15 University of California, Santa Barbara [11-25], while faltering to No.8 Pepperdine University [7-23] and No.2 University of California [5-30]. Wrapping up on day three, the Bearcats dropped both games to DIII RV La Verne University [12-13] on a buzzer beater and to No.12 University of California San Diego [7-21]. 

The Bearcats have yet to face a conference opponent. 

THERE'S LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL 

One of McKendree's bright spots in the Triton Invitational was junior utility Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas), who led the team with 11 total goals on 44.0% shooting, while being a disruptor on the defensive end with five steals and a pair of field blocks. Gibson, along with senior center Yannick Robertson (St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago), were the only two players to score in all six matches. 

Sophomore attacker Alexandros Prokopis (Palaio Faliro, Greece) chipped in 10 goals, drew eight exclusions, and had four takeaways, while senior attacker Armand Le Goff (Reims, France) led with 13 points of seven goals and six assists to go with seven exclusions drawn and a plethora of six steals. 

Goalkeepers Gennaro Pecoraro (Pesaro, Italy) and Gavin Haight (Jenison, Mich.) split cage time with the former racking up 30 saves on 29.1% plus four steals, as the latter finished with 22 saves on 24.7% with five takeaways. 

TEAM TOPPERS 

LOOKING AHEAD 

After the W&J Invitational, the Bearcats will head back home to the Land of Lincoln to vie against their rival Augustana College inside the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium in Rock Island at 1:00 PM CT on Saturday, September 12th. 

Game coverage, including live stream, stats, and tickets, is to be determined and will be publicized accordingly in the coming days.  

TUNE IN-FO 

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

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