 |  |
It's a Zoo: Bison, Tigers & Terrapins to Battle for Southern Division No. 1 Seed this Weekend
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. - The Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division regular season race will come to a dramatic end this weekend as No. 20 University of Maryland, Bucknell University and Princeton University will sprint to the wire to decide which teams earns the top seed for the upcoming Southern Division Championship.
Slated to be played on Saturday, April 18, at the University of Maryland, the Southern Division Championship will decide which two teams from the four-team division earn automatic bids to the Eastern Championship at Harvard University on April 24-26.
For the teams, a spot in the division title game equals a trip to Cambridge and a shot at the CWPA's Eastern Championship and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) automatic bid to the national championship to be hosted by the University of Maryland on May 8-10.
The nationally ranked Terrapins enter the weekend with a narrow advantage for the No. 1 seed at the Southern Division Championship as Maryland is currently 4-0 in Southern Division play, including wins over Princeton (11-9 W) and Bucknell (13-9 W) at home in College Park on February 15.
The schedule is set up for a titanic run to the final game of the division season with the Tigers, Terrapins and Bison all having a chance at clinching the No. 1 seed for the championship and a first round game against No. 4 seed George Washington University.
On Friday, April 3, Bucknell (2-1 CWPA South) and Princeton (2-2 CWPA South) will meet at 7:30 p.m. in Lewisburg for the second time this season. In the previous meeting in Princeton last weekend and shown live around the globe on ESPNU, the Bison held off the Tigers 9-7.
However, Princeton will be seeking vengeance this week as a Tiger victory over the Bison sets the stage for a potential Princeton run at the No. 1 seed.
If Princeton does not knock off Bucknell, the Tigers will fall to 2-3 in division and would hold no-tiebreakers against the Bison for a higher seed, even if Bucknell were to finish with the same record as the Tigers. Inversely, if Princeton does down Bucknell both teams will enter Saturday, April 5 on relatively equal footing in terms of wins-and-losses (excluding goal differential - but that is more complicated).
As a Princeton win puts the Tigers at 3-2 and Bucknell at 2-2, the Bison will have a chance to pull even with the Tigers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 4 at home against George Washington University (0-5 CWPA South). If Bucknell can down the Colonials, the Tigers and Bison will be tied at 3-2 on the year with games against the nationally-ranked Terrapins still on the docket.
The schedule at Bucknell will continue on Saturday as the Bison clash with the Terrapins at 4:45 p.m. A victory over Maryland puts the season series between the Bison and Terrapins at 1-1, meaning that any potential tie-breakers between the teams if they are tied for first or second in the division will go to goal differential. Due to Maryland handling the Bison 13-9 on February 15, Bucknell will need to defeat the Terrapins by five or more goals to down Maryland in any match-up in which their goal differential comes into play.
In addition to the Bucknell-GW and Bucknell-Maryland games on Saturday, the Bison will serve as host of a non-divisional game between George Washington and No. 19 Indiana University at 7:45 p.m. Indiana will then face the host Bison at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 5.
Princeton will have their chance at knocking off Maryland and a shot at the No. 1 seed on Sunday at home as the Tigers will host the Terrapins at 11:00 a.m. Like Bucknell, goal differential could play a factor if the Tigers and Terrapins are tied a top the standings as Maryland knocked off Princeton 11-9 on February 15, meaning the Black & Orange will need to win by three or more goals to hold the advantage in goal-differential against the Terrapins.
The issue becomes slightly stickier if Princeton, Bucknell and Maryland all finish 4-2 as the season series between the three teams will be tied at 1-1 across the board.
If this were to occur, the No. 1 seed will be determined by goal differential in all games between the three teams. The No. 2 seed will then be broken by head-to-head goal differential between the two remaining teams.
Entering the weekend, Maryland holds a marked advantage in goal differential between the three teams as the Terrapins are at +6 thanks to a four goal win over Bucknell and a two goal victory against Princeton. Bucknell follows at -2 with a four goal loss to Maryland and a two goal win over Princeton, while the Tigers stand at -4 courtesy two goal losses to both the Bison and Terrapins.
However, the goal differential equation may radically change this weekend if the Tigers and Bison can knock off Maryland and Princeton can stop Bucknell, forcing a three-time tiebreaker.
