NCAA Season to Start at Navy Open This Weekend

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The 2009 NCAA water polo season gets underway this weekend with the U. S. Naval Academy hosting the Navy Open, beginning Saturday, Sept. 5. The Mids will play nine games over Saturday and Sunday, including two games (at 7:15 and 8:30 pm) against fourth-ranked California and one contest against second-ranked Stanford (Sunday; 3:40 pm).

"We are really looking forward to the weekend and seeing where we stack up agains other teams," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield, who enters his 25th year at Navy and owns a 531-207 record. "We've had a couple weeks of practice and are anxious to see what this weekend holds for us. We are playing a good cross section of teams this weekend and all of our players will see action. We're interested to see who steps up for us.

"We also want to thank the teams that traveled across the country to compete here, especially California, Stanford, Concordia and Diablo Valley College," said Schofield. "These are very good teams and we're excited to play them. It will be a good experience for us."

The Mids will play five games on Saturday, beginning with a battle against Penn State-Behrend at 8:00 am, and end with a pair of games against fourth-ranked California at 7:15 and 8:30 pm. Navy will also face Diablo Valley College and Johns Hopkins on Saturday. The contest with Johns Hopkins will be a CWPA Southern Division league game.

On Sunday, the Mids will play three straight games from 11:00 am to 1:20 pm, beginning with a tilt against Concordia (Calif.). Navy will wrap up its weekend with a battle against No. 2-ranked Stanford at 3:40 pm. Navy will also play Mercyhurst (12:10 pm) and Gannon (1:20 pm).

Offensively this weekend, Navy will be led by sophomore Kyle Wertz, senior Johnny Meiners and juniors Luke Baldwin and Alex Kofsky. The quartet combined for 177 points (116 g, 61 a).  Wertz was Navy's first freshman to receive All-America accolades a year ago and was the CWPA Eastern Championship Rookie of the Tournament. Meiners was named a second-team All-East honoree.

Defensively, senior team captain Brett Rajchel returns in goal after stopping 248 shots a year ago, with a save percentage of .516.

Tickets for the Navy Open can be purchased for $10 for one day or $15 for the entire weekend. Admission will only be charged in Lejeune Hall, where all of Navy's games will be played. Youths (12 & under) and current Navy students will be admitted free of charge.

For more information on the Navy Open, visit the Navy water polo page at www.NavySports.com.

Release courtesy Navy Athletic Communications