After a long trip to Michigan, Bucknell’s Women’s Water Polo looks forward to coming back to dominate on Senior Night. 

The Bison opened the weekend of March 4-5 in Ann Arbor with a game against rival Saint Francis University, Pa. on Saturday morning, and finished the weekend on Sunday with two ranked teams. These teams were the hosts No. 12 Michigan and No. 20 San Jose State. 

Saturday’s morning game was a tight, tough fought battle with Saint Francis, Pa. 

Bucknell swam to a lead with a Boati Motau ’25 goal, an Isabelle Monaghan ’24 conversion and a Gwen Kallmeyer ’26 goal for an exciting 3-1 Bison lead.

The second period was predominantly knotted in a defensive battle. Early on the Red Flash twice found the net, but Bucknell stuck them to a two score period.  

With the Bison not crossing the goal, the period ended bound in a tie at 3-3. The Bison came out firing in the third quarter. Kallmeyer, Mota and Monaghan fired up the Bison’s score, and despite a Red Flash comeback, the quarter ended 6-5 in Bucknell’s favor.  

The momentum shifted in the fourth, with St. Francis’s three straight goals to make it 8-6.  The Bison answered with goals by Bella Schraa ’26 and Monaghan sending the game into overtime.  

Despite a fierce Orange and Blue battle, the Bison ended up one goal short, the final score being 9-10. The University of Michigan came out swift on Sunday, scoring 11 goals in the first half. 

Despite Bucknell’s three goal effort to come back in the second half, the game concluded with a 16-3 win for the Wolverines. Looking to rebound the day, Bucknell Women’s Water Polo team came out playing hard against San Jose, ending the first quarter within one. 

The second period was a whirlwind with a combined effort of 11 goals, but left the Orange and Blue down by four at 9-5.   

The Bison came out in the second half and fired back with seven goals coming within three. Kallmeyer led the team’s scoring with four goals, but the Orange and Blue’s wave of hard effort fell short and San Jose out-fired to a 16-12 final. 

“This weekend we played three games that demonstrated our growth over the season,” Bella Moynihan ’23 said. “ We lost by one in double OT to St. Francis and had a very close game with San Jose State. We did a great job working together to communicate defensive zones and were able to convert on offense. We are looking forward to playing St. Francis for Senior Night in two weeks!”

The team will come back on March 25, looking to avenge their loss to Saint Francis.