Men's water polo finishes as runner up in Southern and ECAC tourneys

Men's water polo breezed into the finals of both of its two tournaments over fall break, but on both occasions, the Tigers went home disappointed.

The team's active break schedule began with a trip to the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament in Annapolis, MD. Six of the eight teams entered with national top-20 rankings.

In the first round, Princeton (then No. 11) faced No. 20 Iona. The Tigers scored the first five goals and never looked back, coasting to a 14-8 victory. Junior Dan Holligan led the team with three goals and seven others chipped in with scores as well.

The Tigers then faced No. 16 Harvard and for the second time this season defeated the Crimson, this time by a 10-8 margin. Senior co-captains Kevin Foster and Robert Urquhart scored three goals each.

The victory set up a championship match-up with No. 14 Queens. The Tigers' offensive production of the first two games was a distant memory by the end of the final. Princeton could only manage five goals, losing 10-5.

Even with the loss, the Tigers still improved on last year's third place ECAC finish.

This past weekend, Princeton competed in the Southern Division Championships. Princeton entered as the defending champion and top seed among the 12 College Water Polo Association teams entered. With a home-pool advantage to boot, the Tigers came in to the tournament hoping for nothing less than a repeat.

Princeton began the tournament against eighth-seeded Salem International. Playing mainly reserves, the Tigers enjoyed a 15-4 blowout. Three freshmen led the way. TJ Edwards scored five goals, Sam Bliss scored four, and Gant Morgner had 10 saves.

Princeton then destroyed 12th-seeded Mercyhurst, 11-2. Freshmen again led the way, as Jacob Harter netted five goals and Morgner tallied five saves and a goal.

Princeton then faced fourth-seeded Bucknell in the semifinals. Two weeks before, the Tigers used a second-half run to defeat the Bison 17-10. This time, no late run was necessary, as the Tigers jumped to a 12-2 halftime lead, and cruised to a 16-7 win. Foster and freshman John Stover led the way with five goals each, and junior Derrick Wong chipped in with a goal and four assists. Sophomore Peter Sabbatini, who has been struggling with injuries, returned to net. He made eight saves, including a stuff of a shot from four meters.

The victory set up a Princeton-Navy championship match. This was the fourth-straight year the squads have met in the finals. In both last year's final and the regular season match two weeks ago, the Tigers pulled out one-goal victories.

This week, however, was a completely different story.

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After taking a 4-3 halftime lead, the Tigers offense stalled in the third quarter. The Midshipmen scored four unanswered goals and held on for a 9-6 victory.

Missed opportunities ruined the Tigers' comeback chances. Four times in the second half, Princeton squandered man-up advantages. On two of those occasions, Navy capitalized with goals.

With two chances to claim tournament championships, each time the Tigers were unable to close out the game.