Men’s Water Polo Hosts Home Invite; Honors Three Seniors Saturday

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's water polo team is at home for the first time this season with matchups against Gannon and Mercyhurst on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Prior to the Lions contest vs. Mercyhurst, seniors Leyton Vrono (Murrieta, CA/Murrieta Valley), Jack Holl (Greenwich, CT / Greenwich), and Connor Bradley (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen) will be recognized.

Coverage:

Video

Behrend News & Notes:

* The Lions hold a 5-12 overall record, dropping four games at the Gannon Invitational last weekend
* Holl and freshman Nick Thompson (Hudsonville, MI/Hudsonville) were named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Athletes of the Week
* Holl scored nine goals to go along with three steals and one assist in four games this past weekend to earn Player of the Week honors, delivering a team-high four goals on five shots against Salem
* Thompson tallied nine goals and a team-high eight steals in four games played to notch Newcomer of the Week. He recorded three takeaways vs. Mercyhurst and Salem, while scoring four goals against McKendree
* For the season, Holl ranks third in the conference in goals (52) and sixth in points (55), while Thompson sits sixth in the MPSF in steals (28) and 10^th in goals (34)
* Freshman Atticus Bowman (Albuquerque, NM/Volcano Vista) leads the MPSF with 55 assists so far this year, well ahead of UCLA's Makoto Kenney who is in second with 34 helpers. Bowman is also fifth in the conference rankings with 61 points
* Goalies Ethan Friedman (Valley Center, CA/Valley Center) (140 saves) and Vrono (61 saves) stand second and ninth in saves in the MPSF
* Freshman Evan Blasky (Rockford, MI/Rockford) has registered 18 sprint wins so far this season for sixth in the conference rankings

Meet the Oppositions:

* Gannon enters Saturday's contest with a 12-4 overall record, picking up three wins in their home invite this past weekend
* In the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), Petar Markovic is tied for fifth with 47 goals this year, while Nikiforos Liantziris ranks fifth in assists (27) and eighth in points (63)
* Freshman Victor Volant has recorded 18 sprint wins so far this season
* Goalie Alvaro Marco leads the WWPA in save-percentage (.493) and goals-against average (10.36), while being fifth in the conference rankings with 111 saves
* Behrend and Gannon matched up two other times this year and in program history have met 54 times since 2001

* Mercyhurst holds a 5-21 overall record, finishing 1-3 at the Gannon Invitational
* Sophomore Ben Gavran is ninth in the WWPA with nine sprint wins
* Goalie Tony Golin has tallied 61 saves so far this season to tie for eighth in the conference rankings
* The Lions and Lakers have met two times this season and have had 57 total matchups dating back to 2001

Schedule:

Game 1: Penn State Behrend vs Gannon – 11 a.m.
Game 2: Mercyhurst vs Washington & Jefferson – 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: Gannon vs Washington & Jefferson – 4:00 p.m.
Game 4: Penn State Behrend vs Mercyhurst – 5:30 p.m. (Senior Ceremony)