EDISON, NJ (January 21, 2022) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced Marist College and Wagner College as the 2022 MAAC Water Polo preseason favorites as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
After capturing last season’s MAAC Championship title, Marist College garnered 71 total points and three first place votes.
Wagner College opted out of the 2021 season due to COVID-19 reasons but garnered 71 total points and three first-place votes. Before the season was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, Wagner College had won the previous six MAAC Championships.
La Salle University and Long Island University (LIU) tied for third place after garnering 60 points each. LIU tallied two first place-votes, while La Salle tallied one, respectively.
Villanova University placed fifth with 42 points, Iona College garnered 38 points, Virginia Military Institute (VMI) placed seventh with 25 points, St. Francis Brooklyn eighth with 21 points, and Siena College placed ninth with 17 points.
La Salle’s Kalista Hyham and Wagner’s Sofia Alvarez Diaz were named Co-Preseason MAAC Players of the Year; for the second-straight season, Marist College’s Marina Hyham was named Preseason MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year.
The Hyham sisters and Alvarez Diaz are joined on the Preseason All-MAAC team by Marist’s Myriam Lizotte, Siena’s Bianca Prinsloo, Villanova’s Kaysie Stuba, Iona’s Jordan van Reeken, and LIU’s Elena Camarena.
| Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| t-1 |
Marist (3) |
71 |
| t-1 |
Wagner (3) |
71 |
| t-3 |
La Salle (1) |
60 |
| t-3 |
LIU (2) |
60 |
| 5 |
Villanova |
42 |
| 6 |
Iona |
38 |
| 7 |
Virginia Military Institute |
25 |
| 8 |
St. Francis Brooklyn |
21 |
| 9 |
Siena |
17 |
| Co-Preseason Player of the Year |
| Kalista Hyham, La Salle |
| Co-Preseason Player of the Year |
| Sofia Alvarez Diaz, Wagner |
| Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year |
| Marina Hyham, Marist |
| Preseason All-MAAC Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Kalista Hyham |
Center |
Graduate |
La Salle |
| Sofia Alvarez Diaz |
Attack |
Senior |
Wagner |
| Myriam Lizotte |
Utility |
Senior |
Marist |
| Bianca Prinsloo |
Attack |
Senior |
Siena |
| Kaysie Stuba |
Utility |
Senior |
Villanova |
| Jordan van Reeken |
Utility |
Graduate |
Iona |
| Elena Camarena |
Attack |
Sophomore |
LIU |
| Marina Hyham |
Goalkeeper |
Senior |
Marist |
The water polo season begins today as co-preseason favorite Wagner College travels west in the Winter Invite hosted by UC Santa Barbara to take Azusa Pacific and UCLA in a day-night doubleheader. Iona is also participating in the Winter Invite and begin their season Saturday with matches against Princeton and Indiana.
Co-preseason favorite Marist College travels to Ann Arbor, MI to take part in the Michigan Tournament hosted by the University of Michigan. The Red Foxes take on Stanford and Hawaii in their first day of action. LIU also heads to Michigan to take on Salem and Indiana.
Full opening schedule for remainder of conference:
Saturday, January 29:
St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Saint Francis (PA) at 11:40 am
St. Franics Brooklyn at Bucknell at 3:40 pm
La Salle at Bucknell at 9 am
La Salle vs. Mercyhurst at 2:20 pm
VMI vs. Gannon at 1 pm
VMI vs. St. Francis (PA) at 6:20 pm
Villanova vs. Harvard at 9 am
Villanova vs. Iona at 3 pm
Saturday, February 5:
Siena at Brown at 9:50 am
Siena vs. Saint Francis (PA) at 2:10 pm
Once again, the 2022 MAAC Water Polo Championship will be held at McCann Natatorium on the campus of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Marist has hosted the Water Polo Championship since 2003. Semifinal action begins Saturday, April 23rd. The consolation and championship games will be played the following day on Sunday, April 24th.
For all information regarding the 2022 MAAC Water Polo Championship, visit
maacsports.com. Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #MAACWP.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 41st year of competition during the 2021-22 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram or visit
MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.