Water Polo Defeats George Washington and Navy

Oct. 26, 2008

Princeton, NJ - Senior Grant LeBeau (San Diego, CA) combined for 13 goals in three games this weekend as the Brown men's water polo team picked up a 13-8 victory over George Washington and an 11-7 win over Navy. The squad's only loss came against Bucknell, as the Bison edged the Bears 11-9.

LeBeau scored six goals during Brown's win over Navy, as Bruno took an early 4-2 deficit heading into halftime. Brown increased its intensity in the third quarter, going on a 6-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. "Our defense was stellar for three quarters and that helped our offense get on track," said Head Coach Felix Mercado. "Navy came and scored three quick goals to star the fourth and we could have lost the game there, but I give credit to the leaders on this team for getting the team back on track and out scoring them 2-0 in the final four minutes of the game."

Mike Gartner (San Jose, CA) added two goals and five ejections drawn, while senior Hank Weintraub (Los Angeles, CA) had two steals and two assists. Sophomore Corey Schwartz (Los Angeles, CA) added two goals, as senior Nico Fort (Miami, FL) chipped in with one and junior goalkeeper Kent Holland (Orinda, CA) made seven saves in net.

Brown played another outstanding game when it picked up another win over George Washington on Saturday afternoon. The Bears jumped on the Colonials early, taking a 7-3 lead after the first two quarters. LeBeau paced the offense with four goals, followed by Gartner's three goals and two assists. The Bears had another big third quarter, scoring five goals to GW's one, en route to a 13-8 win.

"For the first time in a long time we came out and played a good physical first half," added Mercado. "We executed offensively and defensively the way I wanted and it led to a great victory."

Holland picked up six saves in three quarters in net, while freshman Max Lubin earned two saves. The Bears only loss came to Bucknell, as the Bears fell 11-9 to the Bison. "We gave up five goals in the first quarter and we couldn't dig ourselves out of it," said Mercado. "We did do some great things and I know we are going to learn from this loss."

The Bears are back in action on Thursday, Oct. 30 when the squad takes on MIT at Wheaton College at 8:00 p.m.