VILLANOVA, Pa. – In their first appearance in the MAAC Water Polo Championship since 2016, Villanova Women's Water Polo will be taking on the No. 2 seed in the Blue Division, the Iona University Gaels.
Villanova (20-11, 7-5 MAAC) is coming off of a historic regular season, clinching their second 20-win season in a row, as three players and head coach Michael Gordon won major conference awards Wednesday, leading the conference, and setting a program record with five season-long honors.
Iona (12-14, 6-5 MAAC) earned the two seed in their division, helped by winning five of their first six conference games, including defeating then No. 21 Marist. Juniors Sadie Sallas and Lola Trujillo were named to the All-MAAC First and Second teams, respectively, by the conference.
The Wildcats are 2-0 against Iona this season, including a 17-5 victory on the first day of the season and an emphatic senior day win by a score of 16-14, while the Gaels were receiving votes in the national polls.
All-Conference attacker Riley Hull has scored eight goals across the season against Iona, while Gracin Kerry holds a 9.5 goals against average against the team hailing from New Rochelle this season.
Villanova is 19-48 against Iona in their program history, as the two have been conference foes since 2003, but has won six of their last seven against the Gaels. The only defeat that the 'Cats have faced since 2022 was a sudden death overtime loss on April 1, 2023. The two have dueled before at McCann Natatorium seven times, with Iona getting the best of VU each time.
Iona is 77-9 on sprints this season, with Trujillo winning 65 of 69 at a .942% clip. They have nine goal scorers in double figures, led by redshirt freshman Vanessa McNabb, who tallied 50 during the regular season. In net, Lily Rose projects to start for Iona, who holds an 8-10 record, with a .452 save percentage on the year, allowing 13.95 goals per game.
UP NEXT
This tournament is a single-elimination event; if the Wildcats are to emerge victorious, they will play either at 12:00 or 3:00 P.M. against Marist University or Wagner College.
WATCH
Games can be streamed on ESPN+. Geoff Brault and Shannon Ventre will be on call for the event.
SOCIAL
For all the latest updates surrounding the program, follow Villanova Water Polo on Instagram @novawaterpolo and X (formerly Twitter) @nova_waterpolo.
