Women's water polo faces off against top teams in Calif.

The women's water polo team finished its week on the west coast 3-3, but its competition against the nation's top-ranked water polo team, UC-Los Angeles, and other highly-ranked teams was enough to push the Tigers from No. 17 to No. 15 in the national standings and from No. 4 to No. 3 in the College Water Polo Association.

Princeton (8-4) has, in its short six-year history, proven to be a dominant force on the east coast, winning three of the last four Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships and two of the last three Southern Division Championships. Though the Tigers' achievements thus far have not been enough to gain them national recognition, this past week's wins are a good first step.

On Saturday, Princeton took on top-ranked UCLA (14-3) and No. 10 UC-San Diego (14-7). The Tigers lost, 11-1, to the Bruins with senior co-captain two meter Adele McCarthy-Beauvais responsible for the Tigers' lone goal. This loss provided UCLA with its ninth win in a row.

The Tigers did not let this defeat stop them, however, as they next took on and defeated UC-San Diego, 6-5, in overtime. McCarthy-Beauvais and freshman defender Keala Carter both scored twice in this game, and senior co-captain two-meter defender Jenny Edwards and sophomore driver Julie Miller also put in a goal apiece to bring about the Tiger win.

But it was the incredible defense provided by sophomore goalie Madeline McCarthy that really helped propel the Tigers to victory.

"[McCarthy] played outstanding," freshman defender Megan Donahue said. "She kept us in a lot of the games [but] the game against UCSD was probably her best game."

Sunday produced the same results as Saturday as Princeton defeated Pacific, 9-5, but lost to San Diego State, 10-4. In the battle of the Tigers, several of Princeton's players stepped up to ensure victory over Pacific.

Princeton showed just how versatile its offense is with Edwards as the top cat, setting the mark with three goals. Junior driver Annie Olson put in two goals, and McCarthy-Beauvais, Miller, sophomore two-meter Kathryn Parolin and freshman defender Megan Donahue also contributed to the Tigers' win by putting in a goal each.

After taking Monday off, Princeton faced Division III No. 1 Redlands. Despite coming from a lower division, the Bulldogs proved to be more than enough of a challenge for the Tigers. Redlands has won six of the past nine Division III National Championships and seven Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles. And despite playing against teams from Division I, the school has an impressive overall record of 206-78, and 71-5 in the SCIAC.

Redlands, however, was not able to surmount the Tigers' defense or combat their offense, falling to Princeton, 6-3. Donahue scored two points in this game with McCarthy-Beauvais, Edwards and Parolin also netting themselves a goal apiece.

With three wins and two losses, the Tigers had a chance Wednesday to come away with a winning record on their trip to the west coast as they faced seventh-ranked Loyola Marymount.

Princeton, however, was not able to overcome the Lions' defense, but not for lack of effort. Loyola Marymount's goalie, Rachel Riddell, made an impressive 17 saves during the game. McCarthy-Beauvais and Edwards were the only ones to score as Princeton fell, 5-2.

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The Tigers' efforts last week were not made in vain. Its six–game trip over the course of five days increased Princeton's experience and confidence by leaps and bounds. The Tigers took on the best women's water polo teams in the country and came out of it a little bruised but a better team because of it.

"Even though these teams are supposedly better than us, we stayed with them [and] we learned so much from each game," Parolin said. "[This week] showed us we can lay any team out there."