Villanova, Pa. – Villanova Water Polo is set to open their season Sunday afternoon. Their 2019 campaign will kick off in New Rochelle, N.Y. at 12:30 P.M. as they will face Harvard, before competing against Iona at 4:00 P.M.
Head Coach
Larry Sanders is in his first year at Villanova and hopes to compete for a MAAC Championship as quickly as possible.
A Look at Villanova: The Wildcats were picked to finish fifth in the Preseason MAAC Coaches Poll in 2019. They are coming off an 8-18 season while finishing conference play with a record of 6-8. They will bring back starting goalkeeper
Rachel Jennings as she tries to build on last years performance. Freshman goalkeeper
Gaby Palmisano will also compete for playing time behind Jennings. Seniors
Maria Breen and
Kate Stenmoen look to help lead a young Villanova team this season. With only three seniors on the roster, their leadership will be a key part of their success.
Paris Huffman will be looking to help fill the void left by
Dominique Clark who led the team with 78 goals just a season ago. Sophomores
Kate Murray,
Charlotte Curran, and
Malia Gacutan will be looked upon to produce at the offensive end and also disrupt the opponent while on the defensive end.
Camille Oswald and
Amanda Rice are going to be the anchors on defense with the challenging task of guarding opposing centers.
A Look at Harvard: Harvard finished the 2018 season with a record of 17-19 and finished conference play with just a 2-6 record. Villanova and Harvard met once last season and Harvard came away with the victory by a score of 18-12. The Cats cut the lead to 14-11 in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as Harvard pulled away. Harvard and Villanova each have just three seniors on the roster so they are looking for younger players to step up.
A Look at Iona: Iona is coming off a 13-23 season and finished 9-5 in the MAAC. The Gaels defeated Villanova in both of their matchups in 2018. The first game in March, Iona took the win by a score of 17-7, and the second meeting came in early April when Iona won by a score of 15-9. The Gaels finished third in the MAAC and lost to the two seed Marist in the MAAC Championships. They then came back to beat VMI in the third-place game 9-7. The Gaels were picked third in the Preseason MAAC Coaches Poll. They return just three upperclassmen and one senior in 2019.
