Women's water polo readies for another run at Nationals

When the women's water polo team kicks off its season tonight at DeNunzio Pool against Hawaii, 14 of the 15 Princeton athletes who brought home a victory at the Eastern Championships last spring and reached the second round of the national championships will be available to play. Additionally, the Tigers have seven freshmen on the roster, providing the team with the depth that is so important in this grueling sport.

While Princeton will be experienced this spring, the one player who graduated last year — First-team All-East goalie Goga Vukmirovic '00 — will be difficult to replace. One of the Tigers' three returning goalies will have to step forward if the team is to capture another championship at Easterns this spring and earn a spot at the newly established women's water polo NCAA Final Four.

Though the season begins tonight for the Tigers, the team has had little opportunity to practice this fall and winter. Before Feb. 1, teams are allowed only 12 official practices — which Princeton took advantage of during October and November. Over Intersession, however, the Tigers have been completing two workouts a day to prepare themselves for their upcoming matches.

"Practice has been going well," junior utility Cassie Nichols said. "The double workouts have been tiring but we've been getting in shape."

And get in shape Princeton must, because it does not exactly have the opportunity to ease into the season. After facing Hawaii Thursday night, the Tigers host the Princeton Invitational this weekend, playing three times Saturday, including a game against Ivy rival Brown. On Sunday, Princeton faces Indiana, which will likely be one of Princeton's toughest competitors at the Easterns this year.

"The game against Hawaii doesn't actually count for anything," junior driver Megan Bouchier said. "But we don't get to play high-caliber teams from the West often, so it will be great.

"It's frustrating that these games come so early in the season before we've had a chance to get much practice, but we'll make the best of it."

In addition to providing the Tigers with their first opportunity to assess their play against outside competition, the upcoming games will provide the three competitors for the goalie position — sophomores Lisa Rockefeller and Jenny Hildebrand and freshman Lauren Lister — their first opportunity to impress head coach Luis Nicolao with their poise under pressure.

"Jenny and I both put in a lot of time in the off-season," Rockefeller said. "So if our team plays up to the level it did last year, we will do really well. Goga was amazing. She left big shoes to fill."

Rockefeller, Hildebrand and Lister have also been getting more attention at practices this year now that at least one of them will be an important contributor in the water this season. As a result of the competition, the two sophomores have been pushing each other to improve.

"No matter who starts, I hope that we'll be splitting time until one of us distinguishes ourselves as the better player," Rockefeller said. "But we're still going to be supporting each other. Since we don't have a goalie coach, we're the ones who will push each other in practice."

Princeton will head to California at the end of February to compete at the University of California at Santa Barbara Tournament. The Tigers then face several teams from the East before competing in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships, March 31 and April 1, and then the Eastern Championships, April 28 and 29. If Princeton wins the Easterns, its season will continue at the NCAA Final Four, May 12 and 13.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

This year, the NCAA has officially sanctioned the women's water polo championships for the first time. Whereas last year 16 teams participated in the national championships, the NCAA has established an official Final Four this year. This means that, in contrast to last year when the top four teams at the Easterns went to the championships, this year only the winner will go to the tournament.

But before the Tigers start thinking that far ahead, they will be focused on starting their season out well.

"I just want to see that we're playing well together, that we fit well as a team," Nichols said. "Right now we're tired from the tough practices, so we know the strength and speed will come."