Siena: WATCH | Live Stats
Iona: WATCH | Live Stats
Loudonville & New Rochelle, NY – The #15 Wagner women's water polo team is set to resume Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play this weekend at Siena and Iona.
Last Time Out
The Seahawks hosted their first contests at the Spiro Sports Center since 2019 and defeated all four conference opponents that came to Grymes Hill. On Saturday, March 26, Wagner defeated the then #24 Marist and Siena before beating the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and #23 LIU on Sunday, March 27. The Seahawks outscored their opponents 77-29 in the four games.
Seahawks Remain #15
For the ninth consecutive week, the Green & White remains the highest ranked east coast club in the poll and the highest ranked Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) team in the top-25.
The Seahawks are one of three MAAC teams in the poll for the ninth consecutive week, joining #23 LIU and Marist who remains at #25.
After checking in at #23 in the CWPA preseason poll, Wagner moved up to #17 in the week one poll before moving up to #14 in week two before staying there until week six where Wagner was pushed back one spot to #15. At #15, Wagner defeated three teams who received national recognition in the week six poll at the Harvard Invitational on March 5 and March 6 and moved up to #14. The past two weeks, Wagner has checked in at #15.
Kristina Bell Claims Fifth MAAC Weekly Honor
Bell is one of two goalkeepers in program history to claim five Defensive Player of the Week honors in the same season as former Seahawk Emily Riddle accomplished this feat in 2017 when she claimed the award five times on her way to winning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year.
The only teammate to tally more than five weekly honors in a single season was senior
Sofia Diaz Alvarez back in 2019 when she won five Rookie of the Week awards and one Offensive Player of the Week award on her way to winning MAAC Rookie of the Year.
This past weekend at the Spiro Sports Center, Bell started three out of four contests and claimed victories over #24 Marist, Siena, and #23 LIU. Against #24 Marist, Bell stopped seven out of 19 shots and showed a .368 winning percentage to go along with three steals. Against Siena, she stopped six out of eight shots faced before she stopped six out of 10 shots faced against #23 LIU.
The Atascadero, CA native has started 25 games while sporting a 22-3 record and is rocking a 6.68 goals against average to go along with a .520 save percentage. The senior also has 12 steals and one assist on the season.
Conference Success
The Seahawks are sporting a 84-5 record since 2014 in conference play and have begun this season with an 8-0 mark. The 2014 season was the first of six consecutive MAAC Championships for Wagner. Prior to the run beginning in 2014, the Seahawks appeared in the MAAC Championship game 2011, 2012, and 2013 but fell to Iona all three times.
The Seahawks have appeared in 13 MAAC Championship games while claiming a conference leading nine titles. Prior to the 2021 season, either Wagner, Marist, or Iona has appeared in every championship since 2003 and those three schools are the only three to ever capture a title.
In 2016, 2017, and 2018 Wagner went unbeaten in conference play as the Seahawks went 12-0 in 2016 and 14-0 in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Wagner finished the conference schedule with a 14-1 record and a 2-0 record in 2020 as the season was cut short due to COVID-19.
The Seahawks last conference loss came in the 2019 regular season finale on a forfeit against Marist. Before that forfeit, Wagner's last MAAC defeat came 1,464 days before on April 11, 2015, against the Red Foxes.
Winning Ways
From January 29 to March 2, the Seahawks won 15 consecutive game which matched the second longest winning streak in program history as Wagner won 17 consecutive games in 2017 and 2018.
The Green & White are currently riding a seven-game winning streak and have never had multiple winning streaks of double-digit victories in a single season in program history.
The Seahawks are currently sporting a 24-3 record, the best through 27 games in program while scoring 442 goals. Through 27 games this season, Wagner is averaging 16.4 goals per game, and 32.9 shots per game while sporting a .497 shooting percentage.
Up To Date Stats
Sophomore
Andrea Arias currently leads the Seahawks with 73 goals while fifth-year senior
Malia Josephson checks in with a team-leading 118 points, 61 assists, and 14 blocks. Junior
Abbey Simshauser has drawn the most exclusions so far this season with 44 while classmate
Skye Nankervis holds the team lead with 68 sprint victories and 48 steals.
About Siena
Siena enters Saturday's contest with a 3-16 overall record and an 0-6 mark in conference play. This is the third time these two teams will square off this season as Wagner has claimed two victories. The Seahawks defeated the Saints at the Bruno Classic on Sunday, February 6, 29-6. On that day,
Andrea Arias tallied nine goals as Wagner recorded a single-game goal record in the contest. At the Spiro Sports Center last weekend, Wagner defeated Siena 18-2.
Senior Bianca Prinsloo leads the team with 58 points while classmate Georgia Vargas leads the team with 46 goals.
About RV Iona
The Gaels enter the weekend with a 14-8 overall record and a 5-2 conference mark. Iona is currently riding a five-game winning streak and is unbeaten in four contests at Hynes Center Pool. In the latest CWPA national poll, the Gaels were recognized as they received votes.
Graduate student Jordan van Reeken leads the Gaels with 67 goals, 94 points, and 37 steals.
What's Next
Wagner will continue conference play next weekend when they travel to Villanova on Saturday, April 9 for a 9:00 A.M. tilt before heading to La Salle for a 4:00 P.M. contest.
On Sunday, April 10, the Seahawks will welcome Iona to honor their five seniors at the Spiro Sports Center at 1:00 P.M.
