LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) has added Mercyhurst University as a member to its women's water polo conference, raising the number of teams in the league to six for the 2015-16 academic year, it was announced by WWPA commissioner Christy Medigovich on Friday.

With the addition of the Lakers' program, the WWPA women's water polo conference remains eligible to apply for the automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament, which is awarded to the winner of the WWPA Championship Tournament each spring.

We are pleased, and we are proud to welcome Mercyhurst University women's water polo to the family of the Western Water Polo Association," said Medigovich. "In Mercyhurst, we have added an institution with a strong academic reputation and athletic tradition."

"They are committed to the conference's vision of strengthening our community to create more opportunity and healthy competition at the Division II level," Medigovich explained. "We look forward to having them join us for next season."

Mercyhurst will play its final season in the Western Division of the 18-team Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) this spring. In 2014, the Lakers went 9-14 overall for Curtis Robinette, who is entering his 13th season as the head coach of the Mercyhurst women's program in 2015. Robinette has guided the Lakers to over 100 wins with double-digit victories in nine of the past 11 seasons.

"We are excited to move into a conference that gives our student-athletes the opportunity to compete against similarly funded institutions and removing hurdles that prevented the women from a meaningful championship experience," said Joe Kimball, Director of Athletics at Mercyhurst.

"I appreciate all the hard work the current members of the WWPA have done to make this opportunity a reality," Robinette added. "This conference is creating a giant step forward in the potential growth of Division II water polo."

Mercyhurst will join Cal State East Bay, Cal State Monterey Bay, Gannon, Sonoma State and UC San Diego as the six WWPA members on the women's side when the 2015-16 season gets underway.

The WWPA competes within the NCAA and qualifies for the NCAA's automatic bid to the National Collegiate Water Polo Championships for both the men (fall) and women (spring). The WWPA features a championship tournament at the conclusion of both the men's and women's seasons, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The men's championships normally runs the third weekend of November while the women's takes place the final weekend of April.