O'Fallon, Ill. --- The 2023 season continues for the Eagles with postseason play beginning on Friday. The WWPA Men's Water Polo Championships opens for the group of seven teams in O'Fallon, Illinois with the championship game set for Sunday.

The conference tourney is being hosted by McKendree at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex. 

The WWPA is split into two regions between the four teams in the east and three in the west. As the top seed in the west, Biola will open the tournament against east region's fourth-seed Mercyhurst. 

The two No. 1 seeds were both undefeated in conference play this season. Biola went 6-0 against WWPA competition, which matched the conference record of Salem, the top team in the east.

Biola notched its best season in program history in 2023, tallying 18 regular season wins. The team also went undefeated in conference play, leading to a number one seed going into the WWPA Championships.

The Rick Nordell led Eagles set a program record with 10-straight wins from September 28 through October 6, taking down three conference opponents in the stretch. Each year under Nordell, Biola has seen improvement from three to 15 to 18 wins.

BU boasts a talented roster that earned a plethora of postseason WWPA awards, as announced on Wednesday. The heralded group included Maxwell Osborn, Nolan Rapp, Mitchell Carpenter, Roman Saroyan, and John Grasso. The team placed three on the First Team All-WWPA list and three on the All-Defensive Team. Saroyan picked up the lone individual award, being named the WWPA Freshman of the Year. The young talent made an all-around impact in his first collegiate season.

Friday will be the first matchup between the Biola Eagles and the Mercyhurst Lakers. The two teams have yet to meet in the pool but will face off in the postseason tourney following the 2023 conference realignment.

The Lakers posted a 4-19 overall record in 2023, while going 0-6 in conference play. Mercyhurst placed three student-athletes between the All-WWPA Second Team and Honorable Mention lists. The number four seed out of the east finished the season on a win, defeating Penn State Behrend, 12-11.

The winner between Biola and Mercyhurst will move on to the semifinals on Saturday, facing the winner of Fresno Pacific and McKendree.