George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
No. 15 Fordham
Water Polo Resumes Conference Play at Fordham, Wagner on Saturday
10/26/2023 3:20:00 PM | Water Polo
WASHINGTON - Back after an almost two-week hiatus from competition, the George Washington men's water polo team returns to MAWPC play on Saturday for a pair of road games in the New York City area. First, GW will challenge MAWPC front-runner No. 15 Fordham in the Bronx (11 a.m.), before it finishes the day in Staten Island for a bout against Wagner (6 p.m.). GW vs. Fordham will be streamed, and a link to that stream is available on the schedule page.
JOVANOVIC PLACED ON CUTINO AWARD WATCH LIST
Senior center Viktor Jovanovic was chosen as one of 20 student-athletes from around the country to be placed on the Cutino Award Watch List, USA Water Polo announced on Thursday. The Peter J. Cutino Award, named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men's and women's college water polo. GW has now placed a student-athlete on the Cutino Award Watch List during both years of its existence; Buff and Blue assistant coach Theodoros Pateros made the list as a graduate student during his impressive 2022 campaign.
Jovanovic was named to the watchlist as he continues to lead GW in a number of statistical categories. Jovanovic has team-highs in goals (51), points (66), field blocks (6) and steals (18), while he ranks second on the team in assists (15) and exclusions drawn (33). The veteran will look to add to his impressive season totals this weekend with two important MAWPC games on-deck.
LAST TIME OUT
The Revolutionaries last competed on Oct. 14 & 15, when the Buff and Blue went 2-2 playing against non-conference opponents at the Harvard Invitational. GW handled business against Iona (10-6) and UC Merced (15-7), but couldn't overcome No. 18 Harvard (18-8) and No. 20 Brown (13-9).
Mateus Stellet shined for the Revolutionaries at the Harvard Invitational as he recorded 15 goals, 17 exclusions drawn, four field blocks and four steals across the four games. Andrija Sekulic also had an impactful weekend, dishing out a team-best nine assists and adding 10 goals. Goalkeeper Luca Castorina averaged 10 saves per game at the Harvard Invitational and added three assists of his own - all three of which came against UC Merced.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Fordham enters Saturday's contest at 16-7, including a perfect 9-0 in the MAWPC. The Rams checked in at No. 15 in the most-recent CWPA rankings and are the top-ranked team out of the MAWPC. The Revolutionaries faced the Rams once already this season, which resulted in an 18-6 Fordham victory on Sept. 30.
Wagner sits at 12-11 overall with a 3-3 record in the MAWPC, tied with GW with six points in the conference standings. The Seahawks have also not played since the Harvard Invitational, where they went 3-1 with wins over Connecticut College (21-4), Iona (12-11) and UC Merced (10-7), and a loss to No. 18 Harvard (14-12). Wagner will host Mount St. Mary's on Saturday morning ahead of its first meeting with the Revolutionaries of the season.
LOOKING AHEAD
GW returns to action on Saturday Nov. 4, for two games at the Charles E. Smith Center. GW will host Wagner (12 p.m.), ahead of celebrating Senior Day during the evening match against Mount St. Mary's (6 p.m.). The Revolutionaries will then have a quick turnaround to face Navy (3 p.m.) on Sunday, Nov. 5 in Annapolis, Md.
