Women's water polo perfect in CWPA for fourth straight year

There is not a single player on the women's water polo team who has suffered defeat at the hands of a league opponent. Not a freshman, sophomore or junior. Not even a senior who came to Old Nassau in the fall of 1998.

For the last four years, Princeton has gone 8-0 in College Water Polo Association play. The Tigers have won three consecutive Eastern College Athletic Conference championships, and are heavy favorites to make it four straight.

The Tigers were 6-0 going into this weekend's CWPA action in Lewisburg, Pa. Only George Washington and Bucknell stood in the way of another year of Princeton hegemony.

The Colonials and Bison did their best, but it was not enough against the Tigers (15-7 overall).

Junior two-meter Jenny Edwards dominated the first game against George Washington on both sides of the pool. She led the Tigers with three goals and nabbed five steals, helping her team to an 11-8 victory.

Fellow junior and linemate Adele McCarthy-Beauvais scored two goals of her own against the Colonials. When both two-meters are scoring, opposing defenses can only quiver with fear and hope that they can weather the storm.

Senior captain and defender Cassie Nichols also got into the action with two goals and a pair of assists against the Colonials. Princeton's balanced scoring kept George Washington's defense from being able to key in on any one player, helping the Tigers to control the flow of the game.

Also contributing on the scoring side were two-meters sophomore Alexis Olle and freshman Kathryn Parolin and drivers freshman Julie Miller and junior Joanna Armstrong. Each scored a goal against the Colonials.

Freshman Madeline McCarthy got the win in goal for Princeton. McCarthy, who made eight saves, has been solid in goal all season for the Tigers.

Before the season began, goaltending was perhaps Princeton's biggest question mark, but McCarthy has answered in the pool.

She played the first half of the Tigers' second game Saturday, an 11-6 win over Bucknell, and made seven saves. Sophomore Lauren Lister stepped into the cage and did not miss a beat, stopping four shots by the Bison.

On the offensive end, McCarthy-Beauvais, who could be an All-America selection again this season, took over the game — as is her custom — with five goals.

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The rest of Princeton's offense did a good job of complementing her efforts, with Edwards, who may get All-America consideration herself, and freshman driver Kelly Melia-Teevan scoring two goals apiece.

Nichols, Miller and sophomore driver Annie Olson each chipped in one score against CWPA rival Bison.

With the wins, the women's water polo team makes its case for being considered the most dominant team at Princeton.

The University's athletic program, helped by the success of senior high jumper Tora Harris and junior Greg Parker on the national scene, improved to 18th overall in the latest Sears' Cup standings. The Cup is awarded at the end of each year to the school with the best overall athletics program.

Women's water polo and women's swimming — whose class of 2002 also went undefeated in conference play for four years — have to be considered among Princeton's top athletic programs. They have consistently dominated their conferences meet after meet, week after week and year after year.

Next up for the women's water polo team is a trip to Boston this weekend for the ECAC championships. Princeton will be aiming for a fourth-straight ECAC crown.