Men's Water Polo Preview

The difference between a successful and a disappointing season can be measured in minutes.

In the opening minutes of last year's Southern Championships, Navy opened a big lead over Princeton. In the closing minutes, the Tigers charged back. But the clock ran out on Princeton's comeback, and Navy won, 6-5. Though Princeton's second place status earned them a berth in the Eastern Championships, they finished only seventh out of the eight team field.

This year, however, the Tigers are confident they can correct the mistakes that sent them home early last year.

Returners up top include junior two-meter Kevin Foster, who led the team last year in goals with 77, and junior driver Robert Urquhart, close behind with 59. Foster usually occupies the space in front of the net and is a potent threat in close.

"Most of our offensive nucleus is back, and they're playing really well," senior co-captain and goalie Jon Pharris said.

The team did, however, lose four-year standout driver Chris Gratian '01. His awesome presence in the water and ability to control the offense will be sorely missed as Princeton faces some of its tougher defensive foes.

The team performed well in the season-opening Princeton Invitational at DeNunzio Pool — defeating Queens, Saint Francis, and Johns Hopkins 10-4, 6-5, and 11-6, respectively — to claim the title of the Invitational's best.

What might keep the Tigers from winning future, more competitive titles, however, is their relative lack of experience. Six seniors graduated last year, taking much of the defensive core and the team's experience with them. The only seniors on this season's team, co-captains Pharris and Marshall Roslyn, will have that much more weight on their shoulders.

"Half of the seniors we lost were starters, which hurts our depth." sophomore Derrick Wong said.

The team will rely more on returning juniors and sophomores this year, and the large cadre of freshman players will also receive more playing time than usual.

"We have great team chemistry for such a young team," Pharris said. "So that should help some to make up for the lack of experience."

The main problems facing the Princeton squad will be sturdying up the defense to make up for the seniors' departure and providing support for Foster, whom most opposing teams focus on as Princeton's biggest offensive threat.

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"He's possibly one of the best water polo players to play at Princeton," Wong said.

To divert attention away from the two-meter position that Foster occupies, the Tigers will need support from their outside shooters, such as co-captain Roslyn and Urquhart.

If all goes well, the Tigers can look to accomplish many of their goals and make up for some of last year's slips.

"Our biggest rival this year is Navy," says Pharris. "They beat us in the finals of Southerns last year, so to win [Southerns] this year we're going to have to beat them."

Other competitive programs in the East include St. Francis, Queens, UMass, and Harvard — a team which Princeton hasn't lost to in several seasons. Since water polo is emerging on the East Coast, though, many teams have emerged recently to challenge the traditional powers of the East.

Though the caliber of its opposition has improved, Princeton still stands an excellent chance of winning Southerns despite losing so many seniors. The Tigers could even make a run at the Eastern Championship, which decides the East Coast representative to the NCAA Tournament.

"Our team's playing really well, and I'm really excited about our potential. Hopefully we can earn a trip to NCAAs," Pharris said.

Whether or not the Tigers can convert that potential into success will soon be determined. The regular-season game against Navy is on Saturday, and if Princeton hopes to progress far into the postseason they will need to make a statement against the team that denied them a trip to the finals last year.