WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College men's water polo team will look to build off a double-digit win season when it opens its 2023 campaign this weekend with the W&J Invitational.
W&J finished with a 10-8 overall record last fall. The Presidents reached double-digit wins for the first time since the 2015 season. The Presidents will face Gannon and Caltech as play opens Saturday at the Henry Memorial Natatorium.
Returners: W&J will be led by its experience which features a six-man senior class.
"I believe we have well balanced team with experienced seniors as well as younger underclassmen that will contribute," said head coach
Nikola Malezanov. "Our seniors are true leaders by example, and I hope the culture they create and maintain carries on."
The Presidents will be led by
Chris Edwards (Bexley, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) this fall. The rising senior attacker collected Second Team All-MPSF East honors a season ago.
Edwards is joined by fellow All-MPSF East honoree
Mitchell Rubio (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny). Rubio returns for his fourth season with the program. During the Division III Eastern Championships, Rubio scored four goals in an 18-6 win over Connecticut College and scored five more times in a 14-6 win over Penn State Behrend.
Also returning are
Zishuo Ma (Los Alamitos, Calif. / Los Alamitos),
AJ Alderman (Camp Hill, Pa. / Cumberland Valley),
Elijah Muzzi (Honolulu, Hawaii / Punahou) and
Lazar Marsenic (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South). Ma brings back experience at the goalkeeper position, as W&J looks to account for the loss of
Caine Dusza.
"Chris stepped in the captain's role. He is someone we can all relay in to do the right thing," Malezanov said. "He motivates others and keeps everyone in check. All of the seniors
Elijah Muzzi, Andy Ma,
Mitchell Rubio,
AJ Alderman and
Lazar Marsenic compliment Chris and put the team before themselves."
Aidan Johnson (Nassau, Bahamas / Windsor),
Aidan Miller (Grove City, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) and
Kailer Spicer (East Lansing, Mich. / East Lansing) are all valuable underclassmen who will counted upon to pick up the scoring slack.
Key Losses: W&J graduated two All-MPSF East honorees which included First Team performers
Ryan Bannon and
Andrew Edwards. The latter also earned Division III All-America status from the ACWPC. W&J will need to account for the loss of the production in the scoring column.
Dusza turned in a strong season in goal last fall to earn All-MPSF East honors. He also earned weekly honors as MPSF EAST Delfina Player of the Week after a strong opening weekend at the W&J Invitational.
"We feel Andy Ma has returned to goalkeeper position stronger then ever and I hope it shows in the games ahead of us," Malezanov said. "
Timothy Deutsch brings a challenge to Andy at every practice and is getting ready to carry on the baton when called upon."
Captains: Chris Edwards
Newcomers: The Presidents have added a class of four newcomers. That group includes
Adam Brock (Cypress, Texas/Cypress Ranch),
Timothy Deutsch (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton) and
Sean McClellan (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny).
Looking At The Schedule: The 2023 campaign begins with the W&J Invitational on Sept. 2-3.
The following five games take place at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown, W.Va. W&J will face Mercyhurst and Salem on Sept. 9. The Red and Black then return to Morgantown to face Gannon, McKendree and Salem on Sept. 23-24. W&J then travels to Erie to face Augustana, Wheaton, Austin and the host Lions on Oct. 7-8. The matches with Augustana, Austin and Penn State Behrend are conference matchups.
The Red and Black head to Cambridge, Mass. to take part in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championships on Oct. 21-22. MIT will serve as the host of the two-day event.
The Red and Black wrap up the regular season in Rock Island, Ill. on Nov. 4-5 when they head to Augustana. The Presidents face the host Vikings, Connecticut College, Austin and Penn State Behrend during weekend play.
The MPSF Championships will take place Nov. 17, Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 at the University of California Berkeley.
"Our MPSF conference has made some impactful steps to D-III Water Polo. In addition to being a home to the top Division I programs in the country, it opened door to four D-III programs and we are one of them," Malezanov said. "Starting this year the top D-III finisher from the conference tournament will qualify directly to D-III Nationals. That makes the MPSF Tournament even more valuable for us. Playing against the top DI teams in the country is experience like no other. Trying to hold your own agents those guys brings the best of you and we look forward to it again."
Final Word From Malezanov: "Our home invite tournament is becoming a signature event where D-I, D-II and D-III teams from all over the country come together to start the season. In addition to relatively local teams, we will host Cal Tech as well as Long Island University and look forward to that. Home support at the very beginning of the season means a lot."
