The nationally ranked No. 25 Bison women’s water polo team traveled to Providence, R.I. on Feb. 3-4 to take part in the Bruno Classic, their first tournament of the season. At the tournament, the Bison faced Villanova, California Baptist University, McKendree University, and Wagner. The Orange and Blue ended the weekend with a solid 2-2 record, and Colleen Barron ’18 and Emily Konishi ’19 achieved career milestones.

In their first game, the Bison defeated the Villanova Wildcats 14-7. Konishi netted four goals and three assists, while Shyla Lintz ’18 led the team with four ejections. Barron contributed three goals and one assist for the Orange and Blue, Ally Furano ’21 contributed her first collegiate goal, and Sarah Mooney ’19 added another. With a close score of 4-3 going into the second quarter, the Bison then went on to out shoot the Wildcats 26-19 in the fourth, cruising into the win.

“We just finished two hard weeks of training, so we were all very excited to go to Brown to play our first games of the season. After the Brown tournament, we were able to see which parts of both our offense and defense that we need to work on in order to be successful in our next games,” Barron said.

California Baptist edged out the Bison by a final score of 7-8. The Lancers opened up with a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Bison were able to make it a one-goal game after two goals from Kali Hyham ’21 and a tally from Barron on the power play. Konishi finished with three assists, while Barron and Hyham finished with two goals apiece.

The final game on Feb. 3 ended with a 15-4 win for the Bison against the McKendree Bearcats, led largely by the first-year class. Hyham and Molly Teresi ’21 each had three goals and an assist, while Marcela Herrera ’21 and Furano also contributed multi-point outings. The Orange and Blue dominated in shots on goal, taking 23 to the Bearcats’ 11.

On Feb. 4 the Bison lost a tough battle at 13-10 against No. 15 Wagner in its final game of the Bruno Classic. Furano was the team’s leader in goals with a total of four, while Lintz added three and Marta Considine ’18 put up two. Hyham led the Bison with four ejections. Goalkeeper Manuela Herrera ’18 made an impact with 10 saves, reaching double digits for the first time in the 2018 season.

During the third quarter, Lintz and Furano notched back-to-back power play goals to put the Bison back up by one, yet the Seahawks were able to net the final two goals of the quarter to take back the advantage for good. Barron netted her 100th career goal in the contest and Konishi contributed her 100th career assist.

“Our two hardest games this weekend were eye openers for us because we could see how much potential we have for the season, but it was disappointing to fall short twice in one weekend,” Lintz said. “We know how much potential we have… we just have to be able to finish out our tough games. We showed high-level water polo this past weekend and just couldn’t close on a win.”

Next up, the Orange and the Blue will host the Bison Invitational from Feb. 10-11 at Kinney Natatorium. The lineup for games include Gannon and Wagner on Feb. 10 and Siena on Feb. 11.