CWPA Week 11 Poll
Villanova & Philadelphia, PA & Staten Island, NY – The Wagner women's water polo team will continue Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play with three games this weekend, including senior day at the Spiro Sports Center on Sunday afternoon.
Last Time Out
The Seahawks claimed two conference victories on Saturday, April 2 as Wagner defeated Siena and Iona to remain unbeaten in conference play at 10-0.
In the first game of the weekend, Wagner defeated Siena for the third time this season and eclipsed 20 goals in a game for the 10th time this season as they claimed a 20-11 victory. Senior goalkeeper
Mikaela Wells stopped six shots in her third start in between the pipes this season while sophomore
Mar Navarro launched the Wagner attack with five goals and four assists.
In the second game of the weekend the Seahawks handled Iona, 17-6. In her first start of the day, senior goalkeeper
Kristina Bell continued her strong season with stopping 13 out of 19 shots faced. Junior
Abbey Simshauser tallied five goals in the victory.
Seahawks Remain #15
For the tenth consecutive week, the Green & White remain 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 three weeks, Wagner has checked in at #15.
Conference Success
The Seahawks are sporting a 86-5 record since 2014 in conference play and have begun this season with an 10-0 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.
A Look At The Standings
Wagner remains at the top of the MAAC standings with a 10-0 mark in conference play. LIU comes in right behind Wagner as the Sharks are sporting a 8-1 record, LIU's lone conference loss of the season came at the Spiro Sports Center on March 27. The defending MAAC champions, Marist, check in third with a 5-2 record as they fell to Iona and Wagner both on March 26. La Salle and Villanova hold a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot with a 6-4 conference mark, the Seahawks will take on both clubs on Saturday. Iona checks in in fifth place sporting a 5-5 conference mark while St. Francis Brooklyn, Siena, and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) round out the bottom three of the standings.
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 nine-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 26-3 record, the best through 29 games in program while scoring 479 goals. Through 29 games this season, Wagner is averaging 16.5 goals per game, and 33.1 shots per game while sporting a .499 shooting percentage.
With six regular season games remaining, the Seahawks currently sit at 26 victories, with four more wins, they would tie the single season record for victories with 30 which was set in 2019.
About Villanova
The Wildcats welcome the Seahawks with a 17-13 record and a 6-5 conference mark. They're also 3-7 at the Villanova Swim Complex this season.
This is the second time these two teams will face off this season as Wagner defeated Villanova on March 19, 22-7.
Villanova's offense is led by senior Kaysie Stuba, who has 87 goals and 47 assists this season. Sophomore Abigail Shelby has started 28 out of 30 games in between the pipes this season and has stopped 271 shots.
About La Salle
The Explorers welcome welcome Wagner with a 19-11 record and 6-5 mark in MAAC action. La Salle has won six out of nine contests at Kirk Pool this season.
The Seahawks and Explorers met on February 26 as Wagner claimed a 14-5 victory.
The Explorers offense is led by graduate student Kalista Hyham who has scored 82 goals and dished out 22 assists this season. The La Salle coaching staff is led by Kalista's father, Tom.
About Iona
The Gaels and Seahawks will square off for the second consecutive weekend as Wagner got the best of Iona, 17-6, last Saturday.
The Gaels will enter the weekend with a 14-11 overall record and a 5-5 mark in conference play. Currently, Iona is looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Graduate student Jordan van Reeken leads the Iona attack with 69 goals and 29 assists.
An Ode To The Seniors
Sunday is a special day for the Wagner College women's water polo program as they will recognize seniors
Kristina Bell,
Sofia Diaz Alvarez,
Pip Nash,
Mikaela Wells, and fifth-year senior
Malia Josephson.
What's Next
The Seahawks will wrap up the regular season next weekend against #23 LIU and St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday, April 15 before traveling to #25 Marist for the regular season finale on Saturday, April 16.
