With the Eastern College Athletic Conference championships only two weeks away, the women's water polo team (10-3 overall, 4-0 Collegiate Water Polo Association) has been hard at work.
After a Spring Break full of physically intense California play, the Tigers will arrive in Washington, D.C., this weekend a more unified and experienced team to take on Maryland, Villanova, James Madison and George Washington as they continue their CWPA league play.
This weekend will also serve to strengthen the squad as it prepares to defend its title as the inaugural Ivy and ECAC champion and improve upon last year's 30-11-1 record.
"We are definitely ready for this weekend," senior captain and goalie Goga Vukmirovic said. "Spring break was certainly a chance for the team to get closer and more used to playing with each other, and the high level of competition was very good for us, especially this early in the season."
For a team that has 11 freshmen, women's water polo has already made great strides in only a matter of months.
On March 1, for the first time in four years, the Tigers broke into the California-dominated top 10 when they defeated No. 8 UMass.
This young Princeton squad hopes to gain more experience this weekend so that it may contend at ECACs, April 4, in the familiar waters of DeNunzio Pool.
The Tigers, now standing 13th in the nation, are already showing improvement upon last year's performance, as they finished the 1999 season in 14th place.
'Young talent'
"I love our team," freshman two meter Adele McCarthy said. "We have so much young talent and years to perfect strategy and get to really know each other's game."
Unlike last weekend when it encountered highly competitive and aggressive teams like UC-Davis, California and Pacific, Princeton looks to this weekend with much more confidence.
"I don't think we'll have any problem winning all the games," McCarthy said. "Maryland had a strong team last year but has graduated many of its players while James Madison and George Washington are all beginning programs. Villanova should be a more competitive game."
Villanova was no obstacle for Princeton in February, however, when it lost to the Tigers, 12-5. Princeton's second game against the Wildcats came earlier this month and resulted in a 10-3 victory for the Tigers.
'Keep building'
"The Villanova game will most likely be the toughest," Vukmirovic said. "We do need to come out ready to play against them. If we play our game, we should do fine. The California trip highlighted some key areas we have to improve on. We had a great week of practices, and our strategy is to keep building on what we have done so far."
Unlike the West Coast games, the matches this weekend will not involve as much suit pulling, scratching or kicking.
With a less physical game, the Tigers plan to concentrate on their strategy and familiarize themselves with each other's playing as they expect head coach Luis Nicolao to empty the bench this weekend.
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