McKendree heads to Indy for Nationals
Courtesy Mckbearcats.com...
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The No. 23 McKendree women's water polo team will play on the biggest stage in its history this week in the National Collegiate Water Polo Championships, held at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Bearcats will face off against No.19 Wagner College in the Opening Round of the tournament on May 7th at 5:00 PM CT for a chance to play one-seed/No.1 Stanford University in the First Round on Friday, May 9th at 11:00 AM CT. Should McKendree take down the Cardinal, Semifinals will begin the next day on Saturday, May 10th at 11:00 AM CT, and the Championship game will be on Sunday, May 11th at 11:00 AM CT.
Tickets may be purchased online HERE via the IU Indy Ticketmaster website for the First Round, Semifinal, and Championship games. There are no ticket requirements to be in attendance for the Opening Round game (McKendree vs. Wagner).
Live streaming and watching from afar are dependent on each round. The Opening Round will be streamed for free on the IU Natatorium YouTube channel. NCAA.com will stream the First Round and Semifinals for free. Both ESPNU (TV provider) and ESPN+ (paid subscription) will produce the Championship game.
Live statistics can be viewed for free on the 6-8 Sports website throughout the whole tournament. A complete box score will be posted to McKendree's online schedule later in the day.
You can view the NCAA's digital game program for information about the tournament by clicking HERE. You can also view the 60-page postseason media guide (courtesy of McKendree sports information) by clicking HERE.
>FOR ALL DETAILS, PLEASE VISIT McKENDREE'S TOURNAMENT CENTRAL PAGE
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree is coming off one of their most memorable weekends ever in its nine-year history. They earned themselves a third consecutive one-seed in the WWPA (Western Water Polo Association) Championships tournament. The Bearcats fended off the University of California, Merced in a tune-up exhibition match, 13-10 before blazing the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific University 16-10 in semifinal action and earning their first trip to the title game.
In the match for all the marbles, the Bearcats came out hot against the two-time defending conference champion in Biola University. The Eagles made it close by clawing back in the second half, but McKendree showed sturdiness down the final stretch to clinch the 7-5 win for their first-ever WWPA championship crown along with their first apparent berth into the National Collegiate Water Polo Championships.
Following the conclusion of the WWPA Championships, McKendree placed four Bearcats in the All-Tournament teams with senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.) earning the Most Outstanding Player as sophomore center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) and junior attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Québec) collected First Team. Fifth-year attacker Jasmin Guzman (Cicero, Ill.) rounded out with snagging Second Team All-Tournament.
Three days later, Head Coach Alex Figueras was named the unanimous WWPA Coach of the Year award, being the first such honor for both the women's and men's programs. He is currently leading a team with a 21-7 overall record and a final 3-1 record in conference play.
Last Wednesday afternoon, the weekly Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Women's Varsity Top 25 national poll was released, as the Bearcats made their first-ever appearance in the poll with a placement of No.23.
The recent success of this year's team, combined with the emotions of the passing of former Head Coach Colleen Lischwe, found its way into a couple of media outlets in the past week. Figueras and Kane joined the Water Polo Wednesday podcast on Wednesday and can be listened to HERE. On Sunday, NBC Channel 5 KSDK did a four-plus minute segment in their evening news report to which you can watch and/or read about it HERE.
Kane has been no doubt one of the best cage guardians in the nation all season as she has accumulated 856 saves over her four-year career. This season alone, she has made 327 saves on 217 goals allowed (60.1 save percentage) on an 8.30 goals-against average. To supplement, she has tallied 33 steals, five assists, a pair of drawn exclusions, with nine shot attempts. In the WWPA, the senior was in the top in total steals (6th – 30), total saves (1st – 327), save percentage (2nd – 60.1%), goals-against average (2nd – 8.30), saves per game (1st – 11.7) and steals per game (8th – 1.2).
Morquecho has been leading the team in several statistical categories in her first season with the team, with 145 shots, 75 goals, and 86 drawn exclusions. She has also registered three assists, 21 steals, and four field blocks on 51.7% shooting. The sophomore was top in the WWPA in total goals (2nd – 75), total points (6th – 78), goals per game (2nd – 28), and points per game (8th – 2.8).
Rebelo continues to be one of the best all-around players in program history, leading the squad with 100 points and 12 field blocks. She has also recorded 134 shots, 63 goals, 29 drawn exclusions, and 27 steals on 47.0% shooting. The junior was top in the WWPA in total goals (4th – 63), total assists (6th – 37), total points (2nd – 100), total field blocks (3rd – 12), goals per game (5th – 2.3), assists per game (6th – 1.3), and points per game (2nd – 3.6).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
No.19 Wagner College [Opening Round] | Wednesday, May 7th, 5:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 15-5 on 1/25/2025 | RECAP
This will be the second-ever meeting between the two programs. The lone other contest was a 4-19 loss to Wagner back in 2018 as part of the Bruno Classic in the team's first year at the varsity level.
The Seahawks won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for a second year in a row as they posted a 21-8 overall record with an 11-1 mark within the conference. Wagner is 5-5 this season against top-25 opponents.
TUNE IN-FO & TEAM GUIDES
Click HERE to bring you to the tournament central for all details.
PARTICIPANTS
McKendree University
University of California, Berkeley
Harvard University
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Loyola Marymount University
University of Southern California
Stanford University
University of California, Los Angeles
Wagner College