Cambridge, MA - The Iona College Men's Water Polo team defeated No. 5 seed MIT 12-11 and took third place at the Northern Division Championships Sunday afternoon. With its 2-1 weekend, the Gaels (15-17) secured a spot in the Eastern Championships on November 21-23 and will be the No. 3 seed.

The Maroon & Gold had to work their way back against the Engineers (7-12) trailing 3-1 after the first quarter and down by just a goal at the half. The Gaels outscored MIT 9-6 over the next quarters including a six goal explosion in the final quarter to claim a 12-11 victory and third place.

Junior tri-captain Joe Przekota netted a hat trick with an assist, six kickouts drawn, two field blocks, and a steal in the win. Senior tri-captain Patrick St. Cin added two goals while senior Mark DiCola netted his second of the weekend. Senior Nick Velasquez continued his strong weekend with a goal, an assist, three steals, and two field blocks. Sophomore Seth Tasman netted a pair of goals to go along with an assist and a kickout drawn. Rookie Matt Joslyn added the Gaels' final tally. Sophomore goalie Eric Konzem finished with eight saves and three steals.

The Gaels' number 3 seed at Easterns is the highest ever for the program. The third place victory at Northern was the second time the program finished a season in third place in the CWPA Northern Division. As the number 3 seed, the Maroon & Gold will face the number 2 seed out of the South in Navy at 3:30 pm on Friday, November 21. The Midshipmen will have an advantage before the teams get into the pool as the Eastern Championships are being held at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.

                    1st   2nd   3rd   4th    Final
IONA               1       2       3      6      12    
MIT                    3       2       2      4       11 

2008 Men's Eastern Schedule

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. 

North                                                    South

1st seed - St. Francis College              1st Seed - Princeton University

2nd seed - Brown University              2nd Seed - US Naval Academy

3rd seed - Iona College                        3rd Seed - Johns Hopkins University

4th Seed - MIT                                      4th Seed - Bucknell University

Friday, November 21, 2008

11:00     South 1st Seed - Princeton    vs     North 4th Seed - MIT        Game 1     

12:30     North 2nd Seed - Brown    vs     South 3rd Seed - Johns Hopkins    Game 2

2:00     North 1st Seed - St. Francis    vs     South 4th Seed - Bucknell        Game 3     

3:30     South 2nd Seed - Navy    vs     North 3rd Seed - Iona        Game 4     

Saturday, November 22, 2008

2:30     Loser Game 2     vs     Loser Game 1    Game 5      

4:00     Loser Game 4    vs     Loser Game 3    Game 6      

5:30     Winner Game 1     vs     Winner Game 2     Game 7      

7:00    Winner Game 3    vs    Winner Game 4    Game 8

Sunday, November 23, 2008

9:00      Loser Game 6      vs    Loser Game 5    7th Place

10:30    Winner Game 5    vs     Winner Game 6    5th Place 

Noon     Loser Game 8    vs     Loser Game 7    3rd Place

1:30     Winner Game 7      vs     Winner Game 8