TWp Whiteboard: Eastern Commotion, Rowland Gets 500, Who’s Fifth?

The men’s varsity season in the east has taken a dramatic turn after just a couple weeks of competition. Tournaments at Brown and Bucknell produced the most interesting outcomes of the admittedly early season, but could foreshadow a shift in the rankings among those programs. That, a coaching mileston, and news from the west too as week three of the season begins.

• Western teams commonly relieve some of their monotonous in-state travel routine by hopping on an eastbound plane for an early-season tournament. UC Irvine, Cal Baptist, and Santa Clara all did so taking part in this past weekend’s Bruno Classic held at Brown University in Rhode Island. But tournament favorites UC Irvine may skip the event in 2015 after a surprising overtime loss to Princeton on Sunday, 12-14. The Tigers were also unkind to the tourists from Cal Baptist, beating the Lancers  13-7 on Saturday. Princeton emerged from the competition with three more wins and the high likelihood of jumping in to the CWPA’s week two top ten.
• Fordham elicited some excitement with their first win over Bucknell since year one of the Reagan administration. The 33-year streak ended with a sudden death score to make the final 7-6 at the Bison Invitational.
• Harvard continues to show streaks of improvement with their one-goal loss to Santa Clara and a four-point defeat of Navy at the Bruno Classic. The Crimson are 5-2 with losses only to Santa Clara and UCI.
• Cal Baptist coach Rick Rowland ended any suspense about a 500th by getting it over with early in the season. The Lancers took down St. Francis, 10-6, at the Bruno Fall Classic to earn the historic victory. Rowland has announced his retirement from coaching water polo at the end of the fall season.
• George Washington earned a spot in week one’s top 20 and now has a five-game win streak in hand. The Colonials left the Bison Invite undefeated with wins over Fordham, Salem International, Penn State Behrend and Mercyhurst. Two games each against CWPA foes Bucknell and Princeton await GW in the remaining weeks of September.
• Irvine’s loss to Princeton probably removes the Anteaters from the argument, but three other squads are likely vying for the CWPA’s fifth spot. UCSB has had a strong 5-1 start with one loss by three goals to the Cal Bears at the Triton Invitational. Long Beach State is undefeated after six matches but has yet to tangle with a top-ten foe. After their breakout 2013, University of the Pacific is 4-1 with a one-goal win over Davis and a seven-goal loss to USC. Look for the Gauchos to ascend to the fifth spot in the week two poll.