W. water polo completes 25-6 season with eighth-place finish at nationals

UMass was on a mission for revenge this weekend. And this time, Princeton failed to rise to the occasion.

The women's water polo team (25-4 overall, 8-0 Collegiate Water Polo Association) was unable to repeat history, losing 9-6 to Eastern rival UMass for the first time this year as it closed out its seaon at the NCAA tournament this weekend in Bloomington, Ind.

Princeton kicked off the weekend with a 13-11 win over Hawaii early Friday morning. The Tigers next hit the pool Saturday to take on No. 1 Stanford. After falling 17-7 to the top seed Saturday, the Tigers returned to the pool Sunday to battle UMass.

Princeton dropped the contest to the Minutewomen, 9-6, before a final 8-6 loss to No. 7 UC-Davis. Friday's narrow victory over No. 9 Hawaii proved Princeton's ability to contend with the West coast teams. The win, however, did not come easily for the Tigers — who waited until the second half to prove themselves. The Wahine took this opportunity to grab an early 4-1 lead. The Tigers then sunk two goals and were down 4-3 heading into the second period. After both teams tallied another goal, the Tigers ended the first half trailing Hawaii by one.

Rallying back and forth throughout the third period, Princeton entered the last quarter tied with the Wahine, 8-8. While both teams managed another goal, Princeton grabbed a 10-9 lead when junior two-meter Katherine Kixmiller found the net.

Hawaii responded to even up the score once again, but the tie did not last long. Freshman driver Jenny Edwards took command of the ball and scored her fifth goal of the game, pulling the Tigers ahead. Sophomore driver Cassie Nichols helped Princeton maintain its advantage throughout the final minutes of play by adding two more goals. Senior goalkeeper Goga Vukmirovic's four saves and freshman two-meter Adele McCarthy-Beauvais' final goal preserved the Tigers' 13-11 win over the Wahine.

Princeton, which entered the tournament with a No. 8 ranking, then advanced to the next round where it took on the nation's top team, Stanford.

Despite a valiant effort, the Tigers were unable to hold back the Cardinal. McCarthy-Beauvais managed to break through the aggressive Stanford defensemen to score three times. Kixmiller contributed two of Princeton's tallies, while Edwards and junior driver Alina Brown each notched a goal. Vukmirovic had seven saves for the game.

The loss to the Cardinal put an end to Princeton's 16-game winning streak, but the Tigers reentered the pool on Sunday — only this time to face a familiar team. The challenger, No. 12 UMass, had lost all three of its bouts with the Tigers earlier this season. This time, however, there was a reversal of roles. Princeton led after the first period, 2-1, with scores from Nichols and Kixmiller. It was the Minutewomen, however, who dominated the rest of the game.

The second quarter saw one goal from Nichols, but this was not enough to keep up with UMass, which tallied three. McCarthy-Beauvais nailed one in the cage during the third period and netted another shot at the beginning of the fourth quarter. As the clock neared the buzzer, Kixmiller added what would be the last goal of the game.

The Tigers then attempted to redeem themselves in their next game against UC-Davis. Once again, however, Princeton started out strong but finished weak. The Tigers jumped out to an early versus the Aggies, but soon faltered and fell by the final count of 8-6. The Tigers finished the tournament in eighth place.