George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
RV Wagner
Water Polo Enters Heart of MAWPC Play on Saturday vs. (RV) Wagner, No. 9 (T) Fordham
9/26/2024 9:29:00 AM | Water Polo
WASHINGTON - The George Washington University water polo team (5-5, 1-0 MAWPC) begins the heart of conference play this week with two MAWPC matches in the New York area on Saturday. The Revolutionaries will go into battle against (RV, receiving votes) Wagner (6-5, 2-1 MAWPC) at 10:00 a.m. in Staten Island, before heading to the Bronx for a 4 p.m. matchup vs. No. 9 (T) Fordham (9-0, 3-0 MAWPC). Both matches will be streamed, and links to the streams can be found on the schedule page.Â
CLOSING OUT CALIFORNIA
The Buff & Blue completed its West Coast trip last weekend and returned home from Northern California at 2-2. The Revolutionaries were bested by a pair of ranked opponents, No. 9 San Jose State (14-3) and No. 18 Santa Clara (17-10), but handled the opposition in their other two matchups against Fresno Pacific (19-13) and UC Merced (18-7).
QUOTES FROM CASTORINA
"We didn't play up to our max vs. San Jose State - one of the best teams in the country - and unfortunately the score wasn't what we were hoping for," said graduate goalkeeper Luca Castorina in a post-weekend statement. "But it served as a nice lesson and we played good water polo in certain offensive and defensive situations.
 "Versus Fresno Pacific, we managed to get a win despite having a lot of traveling and feeling a little tired. In the second game on Friday, we were able to get our energy up and we played a much better game, playing together as a team and taking advantage of counters. I was very happy with our performance vs. UC Merced.
"We gave everything we had vs. Santa Clara and it was the most competitive game of the trip. We played together as a team, we all knew our role and we played at a high-level with good energy. We were in the game through the third quarter against a very good, ranked team, but we unfortunately let the match slip in the last quarter.
"These matches helped us to grow, individually and as a whole, and I'm very glad we got to go to California to play against quality competition. We bonded well as a team and we'll be stronger together ahead of the conference matches this coming weekend."
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Wagner is 6-5 on the season, which includes a 2-1 record vs. MAWPC opposition, beating Johns Hopkins (16-8) and Mount St. Mary's (16-15), while narrowly falling to Bucknell (13-12). Junior Attacker Laszlo Strasser leads the Seahawks into action after having team bests in goals (68) and assists (42) in 2023, a season in which Wagner went 1-1 vs. GW with the home team emerging victorious on both occasions. The Seahawks will host GW for its home opener on Saturday.
Fordham is currently undefeated at 9-0, which includes a 3-0 mark in the MAWPC with wins over Mount St. Mary's, Bucknell (20-9), and Johns Hopkins (28-9). However, the Rams will have a pair of difficult matchups before meeting GW on Saturday, as they host No. 7 Princeton and No. 17 Navy on Friday night and Saturday morning, respectively. The Rams return lots of talent from their 2023 MAWPC Championship team, including leading goal scorer, senior 2-meter Luca Silvestri (67 goals), and leading point man, senior attacker George Papanikolaou (64 goals, 83 assists). Fordham bested GW on both occasions last season, but the Revolutionaries were the only MAWPC team to be within a goal (11-10) of the Rams at the final horn.Â
GW fans can get in the game by supporting NIL opportunities for Buff & Blue student-athletes through contributions to the Friends of George Collective. Fans can also directly support through donations to the Buff & Blue Fund.
For more information on GW Athletics, fans are encouraged to visit GWsports.com, or follow the Revolutionaries on social media through X (@GWsports) and Instagram (@gwsports).
