No. 19 Men’s Water Polo Ready for 2019 NWPC Championship

Friday, November 22

Cambridge, MA / MIT

4:00 PM

Brown University

Iona College

No. 19 Men’s Water Polo Ready for 2019 NWPC Championship

11/21/2019 11:37:00 AM | Men's Water Polo

NWPC Bracket Watch Live Tournament Schedule

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No. 19 ranked and No. 3 seeded Brown University men's water polo is ready to play in the 2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference at the Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., with the Bears set to meet No. 6 seeded Iona in the first round on Friday at 4:00 p.m.

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THE NWPC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship will take place at MIT's Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center from Friday, Nov. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 24. Six teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket for the right to represent the NWPC at the NCAA Championship.

No. 1 Harvard and No. 2 Princeton have earned first-round byes in the tournament with No. 3 Brown and No. 6 Iona as well as No. 4 St. Francis Brooklyn and No. 5 MIT set to open the tournament on Friday in the first round.

Brown will compete in the second first round game on Friday at 4:00 p.m. prior to playing in either the semifinals on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. vs. Princeton or in the fifth-place game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The first-place game will take place on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. while the third-place game will occur on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

BROWN IN THE REGULAR SEASON
Brown posted a 20-11 overall record and 6-4 NWPC mark during the regular season. The Bears earned five wins over teams that were ranked at the time of the game, including victories over California Baptist, Pomona-Pitzer, George Washington, Princeton, and St. Francis Brooklyn.

IN THE POLLS
In the CWPA poll from Nov. 7, Brown checks in as the No. 19 team in the nation as one of three NWPC teams to appear in the rankings. No. 9 Harvard leads the group while No. 19 Princeton is tied with the Bears in the rankings. No. 13 Bucknell, No. 16 Fordham, and No. 18 George Washington represent the MAWPC in the poll.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Seniors James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.), Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.), and Hudson Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.) have provided the Bears with a veteran presence in 2019.

Thygesen leads the team in both goals (68) and assists (47). Deirmenjian paces the club in steals (43) and field blocks (40), while tallying 37 goals, 44 assists, and 46 ejections drawn. Rawlings has totaled 24 goals, 38 assists, 20 steals, and 34 ejections drawn.

Freshman Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) has given the Bears another scoring threat, ranking second on the team with 47 goals and adding 21 steals. Fellow rookie Leo Berkman (Orinda, Calif.) has posted 39 goals and 30 assists.

Sophomore Matt Simko (Coral Gables, Fla.) leads the team with 65 ejections drawn and has netted 31 goals. Junior Aidan Reilly (Los Angeles, Calif.) has contributed 21 goals and 30 assists.

IN THE CAGE
Brown has two quality goalkeepers in junior Riad Hallal (Coronado, Calif.) and sophomore Ugo Piovan (Vouliagmeni, Greece). Hall has totaled 199 saves on a .529 save percentage on the season and has made double-figure saves in each of 10 contests. Piovan has notched 137 total saves on a .477 saver percentage and has registered double-figure saves in each of seven games.

THE MERCADO ERA
Now in his 13^th season as the head coach of Brown, Felix Mercado has posted a 280-134 overall record (.676 winning percentage) during his time with the Bears. His teams have posted 20-win seasons in nine of the last 10 seasons and have totaled 10 20-win seasons during his 13 years. He has guided the program to at least 17 wins in each of his 13 seasons with the Bears.

STRONG START AT BRUNO CLASSIC
Brown opened its season with a strong start at the Bruno Classic, posting a 5-1 record. The Bears opened the year with four consecutive victories over Wagner (13-10, OT), McKendree (18-16), California Lutheran (14-7), and Connecticut College (10-5). Brown then capped the weekend with a 16-14 victory over No. 16 California Baptist.

SUCCESS AT HARVARD INVITE
Brown notched a 4-0 record at the Harvard Invitational from Oct. 18-20, including two wins over ranked opponents. During the weekend, the Bears topped Wagner (10-9), No. 17 Pomona-Pitzer (10-6), La Salle (12-9), and No. 15 George Washington (16-10).

NWPC SECOND HALF
During the second half of Northeast Water Polo Conference play, Brown posted a 4-1 record, moving into third place in the conference standings. The Bears bested No. 18 Princeton (10-8), No. 17 St. Francis Brooklyn (11-10), Iona (17-12), and MIT (12-7) as part of the run.

WEEKLY HONORS
Senior James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) and freshman Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) won NWPC Player of the Week and NWPC Rookie of the Week respectively on Oct. 22 after the Bears went 4-0 at the Harvard Invitational. Senior Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.) captured NWPC Player of the Week on Nov. 6 after the Bears completed a 3-0 weekend in conference play.

BRUNO AND CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
As a program, Brown has won five conference championships in 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, and 2014. The Bears have finished in second place in conference championships on seven occasions – 1978, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, and 2016. Overall, the Bears have made 12 appearances in conference championship games.

NCAA FORMAT
Seven teams will earn berths into the NCAA Championship in 2019 with five conferences – the NWPC, MAWPC, GCC, MPSF, and WWPA – earning automatic berths into the championship and two teams gaining at-large bids. The top two teams will qualify directly to the national championship with the remaining five teams competing in three opening-round games to earn the final two spots in the bracketed championship. The SCIAC has withdrawn its AQ in order to participate in the USA Water Polo sponsored Division III Collegiate Water Polo Championship.

Opening-round games will take place on Saturday, Nov. 30, Wednesday, Dec. 4, or Thursday, Dec. 5. The University of the Pacific will host the national semifinals and finals on Dec. 7-8 at the Chris Kjeldsen Aquatic Center.