Coach Luis Nicolao tried to explain the unexpected loss at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Champioship semifinal matchup against Hartwick last weekend.
"We just didn't finish our chances," he said. "We would fall behind, battle back, make a mental mistake and fall behind again."
The painful defeat prevented the women's water polo team from facing Brown in the finals, keeping Princeton from defending its championship.
Almost exactly a year ago, the Tigers defeated the Bears 9-6 to win ECACs for the third time in four years. The title now belongs to Hartwick, which defeated Brown 6-5 in the final game on Sunday.
This weekend, Princeton will attempt to defend another title when it travels to Villanova, Pa. for the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division Championships. More than a year ago, on April 8, 2001, the Tigers crushed Michigan 11-5 in the final to win Southerns for the second time in two years. After the tournament, most of the players named on the CWPA All-Southern team were Tigers, including MVP Adele McCarthy-Beauvais.
On Friday, Princeton will not have the same motivation it had last year, when only five days earlier it had won the ECAC Championships. Then, the Tigers defeated Penn State, Slippery Rock, and Indiana to then defeat Michigan, to whom they had lost earlier in the season, to become Southern Champions.
This year, No. 13 Michigan, the top seed for the tournament, will be back to attempt to dethrone the Tigers. This season, Princeton has played the Wolverines twice. The first game resulted in a loss for the Tigers but in the second, Princeton got its revenge and defeated Michigan 17-16.
The Tiger defense will have to look after Wolverine utility Casey Kerney and two-meter Julie Nisbet, who shared the Michigan record for most goals in a season until last week, when Kerney scored twice against Indiana to set the record at 35. If the Tigers finish in the top four, they qualify for Easterns, next week at DeNunzio Pool. In 2001, coming into Easterns as the top seed after winning both ECACs and Southerns, the Tigers lost to Brown. The best memories come from two years ago, when the Tigers overcame UMass to win Easterns and make NCAAs. Princeton beat Hawaii and secured a top eight position, best in Tiger history.
This year, however, Princeton has been inconsistent. The team possesses potential, but has not shown regularity in its results. But maybe not winning ECACs or Southerns is a good sign for Princeton. Last year, the Tigers won both of these titles and then lost the Easterns final in overtime.
"Hopefully, this year things will happen the other way around," junior Jenny Edwards said.
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