ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst men's water polo team heads to Annapolis, Maryland, for the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Championships this weekend. The Lakers are the third seed and will open play on Saturday, November 9, at 11:40 a.m.

 
Coach Curtis Robinette's squad is among those receiving votes in this week's CWPA Varsity Top 20. They are also ranked sixth in the latest CWPA Top 10 poll. On Saturday, the Lakers will face the winner of Friday's George Washington-Salem International match. With a win there, Mercyhurst would advance to the Southern semifinals at 9 p.m. Saturday.
 
Mercyhurst posted a 17-4 record in the regular season, winning the CWPA Division II Championship and the CWPA Southern-West Division title. It also took down George Washington and Johns Hopkins last weekend, padding its resume for the Southerns seeding committee.
 
Brett Luehmann leads the Lakers with 54 goals. He is tied with Garret Schoeman for the team lead with 77 points. Schoeman has dished out 44 assists. Danilo Svorcan has scored 39 times, including eight last weekend, earning CWPA Southern Division Co-Player of the Week honors for his efforts. Isaac Ogloblin has totaled 30 goals and 16 assists, while Matt Cote has started all 21 games in goal, giving up 8.28 goals per game.
 
In 2012, Mercyhurst made a run as the sixth seed at Southerns, defeating JHU and Princeton on its way to the championship game. With the victories, the Lakers qualified for the CWPA Eastern Championship for the first time in program history. This season, the newly-named CWPA Championship has expanded to 12 teams, meaning Mercyhurst will look to improve its seeding with a strong weekend at Southerns.
 
For the CWPA release, please click here.