PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Long Island University women's water polo team is set to begin its inaugural campaign at the 2020 Bruno Classic hosted by Brown University. The Sharks will compete against Brown, Whittier, Austin and Saint Francis U in the first weekend of competition. All four contests this weekend will air live on ESPN+.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
2020 Bruno Classic Tournament Central
(Weekend Schedule, Results, Video)
LIU at Brown
Saturday, February 1 | 9:15 a.m.
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LIU vs. Whittier
Saturday, February 1 | 4:45 p.m.
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LIU vs. Austin
Sunday, February 2 | 10:20 a.m.
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LIU vs. Saint Francis U
Sunday, February 2 | 1:50 p.m.
Watch
NOTES ON THE SHARKS
The inaugural roster for LIU is made up of 12 student-athletes. Seven players are from the United States while three are from Canada and two are from South Africa.
LIU features one of the youngest rosters in the country with 11 first-year student athletes in Jenna Anderson, Rebecca Ansell, Alejandra Aranguren, Jessica Dean, Kate Fischer, Jeannet Garcia, Kate Hinrichs, Erin Pascual, Annie Solsky, Taylor Thurlow and Julia Zebak. The lone upperclassmen is junior Hannah Perry who arrived in downtown Brooklyn from Sierra College.
The Sharks have a challenging non-conference schedule competing at the Bruno Classic and three more early season tournaments along the east coast before ending the opening month out in California. The eight-game MAAC schedule begins for the Sharks on Saturday, March 21 with a matchup against Iona at the Steinberg Wellness Center.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Brown enters the 2020 Bruno Classic with a 2-0 record, recording wins over Iona and Villanova last weekend. The Bears were receiving votes in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association Top-25 poll. The team was picked fifth in the CWPA conference poll in the preseason after finishing with a 21-13 record and 2-4 conference mark in 2019.
Freshman Katie Dvonch garnered CWPA Rookie of the Week after helping the Bears to a 2-0 weekend. She recorded six goals, three assists and two steals against Iona and Villanova.
SCOUTING THE POETS
Whittier enters the first weekend of competition ranked fourth in the latest CWPA DIII Poll. The Poets posted a 13-10 record in 2019 reaching the SCIAC semifinals. Whittier will open the tournament against Harvard before Saturday afternoon's matchup against LIU. The team will close out the the trip out east against Brown and Saint Francis U on Sunday.
Headlining the returnees for the Poets are a pair of DIII All-Americans in senior Sawyer Bellville and sophomore Teresa Marchetti. Bellville posted 67 points on 47 goals and 20 assists in her first season at Whittier. Marchetti recorded a team-high 75 points last season nothing 58 goals and 16 assists.
SCOUTING THE KANGAROOS
This weekend also marks the opening of the 2020 season for Austin College. The Kangaroos were ranked 10th in the latest CWPA DIII Poll. Austin posted an 8-9 record a season ago with a 5-3 mark in CWPA competition. The Kangaroos are led by a pair of sophomores in Lexi Wong and Brooke Le, who garnered All-America honors last season. Wong was the CWPA rookie of the year after scoring 42 goals in 17 games. Austin will take on Brown, Claremont-Scripts, Siena and Bucknell before concluding the Bruno Classic against LIU.
SCOUTING THE RED FLASH
Saint Francis U will also begin its 2020 slate this weekend at the Bruno Classic. The Red Flash will square off with Wagner, Siena and Whittier before Sunday afternoons meeting against the Sharks. The team was picked seventh in the CWPA preseason conference poll and posted a 10-26 record a season ago.
Sophomore Breanna Dupperon leads the Red Flash returnees after posting 49 goals and 25 steals in her rookie campaign. Junior Gabby Garritson added 12 goals and seven steals last season for Saint Francis U.
UP NEXT
LIU will travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania for the 2020 Bison Invite next weekend. The Sharks will take on Harvard and Mercyurst on Saturday, February 8 before closing the weekend against Salem University and La Salle on Sunday, February 9.
