Washington & Jefferson to Host 2009 Men's Division III Eastern Championship on Oct. 24-25

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The best NCAA Division III team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association will be decided in Washington, Pa. on October 24-25 as the Presidents of Washington & Jefferson College will serve as host for the 2009 Men's Division III Eastern Championship.

Featuring 2008 No. 1-nationally ranked and defending DIII Eastern champion Johns Hopkins University, the field will also include Penn State University-Erie, W&J and Connecticut College.

11-time Division III Eastern Champion Johns Hopkins will seek to add another trophy to its' trophy case as the Blue Jays will seek to make it an even dozen titles.  The 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 titleists in 17 trips to the championship game, Hopkins concluded the 2008 season ranked No. 1 in the final Division III Top 10 poll, a finish the Blue Jays would like to hold down for the entirety of the 2009 campaign.

For Hopkins, which appeared in every Division III Eastern title game from 1991 through 2006 before electing not to compete in 2007, the Blue Jays path to another title will not be clear and straight.

Perennial foe Massachusetts Institute of Technolgy (MIT) will not compete this year after appearing in 14 of the previous 18 title games, including a 20-15 loss to Hopkins in the 2008 title tilt.

The 1991, 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2007 champion, the Engineers had recorded a decade long run of title game appearances, including nine meetings against Johns Hopkins.

In the history of the CWPA, only three teams have captured the Division III title with Hopkins and MIT accounting for all the championships except the 1992 and 1993 crowns of Washington & Lee University. Further, only four teams have appeared in the 18 title games with Johns Hopkins (17), MIT (14) and Washington & Lee (4) accounting for all but one title shot.

The lone title game appearance by another team came in 2007 when W&J advanced to the finale, a feat which the Presidents and head coach Vaughn Smith will seek to repeat in 2009.

Seedings for the championship will be determined in early October based on a coaches' poll from among the competing programs.