EDISON, NJ (Jan. 9, 2020) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced Wagner College as the 2020 MAAC Water Polo preseason favorite, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
Wagner picked up five first-place votes and 77 total points to claim the top spot in the poll. Wagner won its sixth-consecutive MAAC Championship Title in 2019 and ninth title overall.
Marist College followed shortly behind in second-place with four first-place votes and 76 points. Iona College secured a third-place finish with 56 points to complete the top three.
La Salle University placed fourth with 51 points, Virginia Military Institute (VMI) placed fifth with 42 points, and Villanova University placed sixth with 39 points. Siena College placed seventh with 23 points, St. Francis Brooklyn College finished eighth with 21, and Long Island University (LIU) finished ninth with 20 points to close out the preseason poll.
Marist College's Anais Mathes and Wagner's Sofia Diaz Alvarez were named Preseason Players of the Year and Marist's Carsen Horvatich was named the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
Mathes recorded 45 goals, 20 assists, and 14 steals to score 65 points last season, making her a contender for the upcoming season.
Diaz Alvarez, Wagner's first-ever All-American, received Rookie of the Year honors last season after leading Wagner with 109 goals and ranking second on the team in total points with 171. She was also the first Seahawk freshman to score 100 goals in a season.
Horvatich, a 2019 First Team All-MAAC selection, four-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Week, and Excellent ACWPC Scholar-Athlete recipient, recorded 220 saves for a save-percentage of .483.
Mathes, Diaz Alvarez, and Horvatich are joined on the Preseason All-MAAC Team by Jordan Van Reeken (utility, Iona), Sarah DeFusco (attack, La Salle), Diana Fernandez (attack, Siena), McKenna Imset (center, VMI), and Jacqui Sjogren (attack, Wagner).
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Preseason Poll
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Place
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Institution
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Points
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1
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Wagner
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77
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|
2
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Marist
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76
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3
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Iona
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56
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4
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La Salle
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51
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|
5
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VMI
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42
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6
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Villanova
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39
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|
7
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Siena
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23
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|
8
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St. Francis Brooklyn
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21
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|
9
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LIU
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20
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Preseason All-MAAC Team
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Name
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Institution
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Position
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Jordan Van Reeken
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Iona
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Utility
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Sarah DeFusco
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La Salle
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Attack
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Anais Mathes
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Marist
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Utility
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Carsen Horvatich
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Marist
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Goalie
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Diana Fernandez
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Siena
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Attack
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McKenna Imset
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VMI
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Center
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Sofia Diaz Alvarez
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Wagner
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Attack
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Jacqui Sjogren
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Wagner
|
Attack
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For the 18th consecutive year, the 2020 MAAC Water Polo Championship will be held at McCann Natatorium on the campus of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Marist has hosted the Water Polo Championship since 2003. Semifinal action begins Saturday, April 25. The consolation and championship games will be played the following day on Sunday, April 26.
For all information regarding the 2020 MAAC Water Polo Championship, including tickets, visit maacsports.com/wp.
To stay up to date on MAAC Water Polo, visit MAACSports.com and follow @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #MAACWP.
