So fresh and so clean. Just as skillfully as Outkast can lay down a beat, so can the Princeton men's water polo team lay down a beating, which it proved during last weekend's play. The Tigers emerged as victors of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships and in the process preserved its unblemished record, which now stands at 11-0.
This is the first ECAC Championship title in program history.
The Tigers traveled to Brown on Friday for the annual tournament to determine the league Champion. Princeton went into the weekend seeded fourth but played like a first-seed team. Princeton started the weekend off strong by thrashing Johns Hopkins, 16-8. It was the second time that the Tigers met the Blue Jays (6-8) this season, both times with similar results.
Veterans and rookies alike showed their talent during the game against Hopkins, with senior two-meter Dan McKenna and freshman driver Chris Kelsch scoring three goals each.
"Kelsch is a great asset to our team as a freshman," sophomore two-meter defenseman Jamal Motlagh said.
Bouncing back from a hurt shoulder was sophomore driver John Stover, who scored two for the cause, as did freshman two-meter defenseman Reid Joseph.
The next day, the Tigers promptly disposed of George Washington (5-5) with a crushing 19-4 victory. Princeton took charge right away with a 10-2 lead in the first half and refused to relent until the game was over.
The Tigers took the George Washington game as an opportunity to exercise their entire bench, giving sophomore two-meter defender Jacob Harter and classmate Mike McKenna, who plays driver, the opportunity to score three goals each.
"Our team is so deep," freshman driver and two-meter Nick Seaver said. "Its strength is definitely its depth."
This depth, largely a product of this year's large and talented freshman class, combines with a great team chemistry to form Princeton's key advantages. Their ability to substitute frequently is what has kept the Tigers fresh and ready to play.
"Our depth has allowed us to swim other teams into fatigue, and we are able to score many counterattack goals," Joseph said.
That strategy helped Princeton prevail over Queens on Saturday night, 10-2. Stover had a great game, scoring two for the Tigers and setting the example.
"John Stover is half spectacular, half amazing," Seaver said. Seaver took a page out of Stover's book and scored two himself along with sophomore driver Dan Riskas.
Queens (6-7) has been struggling with an up and down season. Both times the squad has faced the Tigers, it has been without their top three players.
The victory over Queens pitted Princeton against archenemy Navy in the finals on Sunday, a matchup that never disappoints.
Princeton took off with a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but Navy recovered in the second quarter and narrowed the Tigers' lead to 3-2. The Midshipmen's damage control came too late, as Princeton had already set the tone that would allow the Tigers to win 8-6. Perennial scorers Stover and Motlagh netted two apiece, along with Joseph and McKenna.
"We get very tentative and play nervous water polo when we play Navy," Joseph said about the close game. "That takes some power off our counterattacks. Despite this, we still manage to beat them, so we are growing and working on overcoming our issues."
Princeton's outstanding record isn't due entirely to the prowess of those who attack but also of those who defend.
"I think keeping every team to under six points is a really good show of our defense," Motlagh said.
This week's outlook looks pretty good for the Tigers, who will be able to enjoy the weekend at home for a change. Their only game of the week will is against St. Francis on Thursday, allowing the team to rest, recover, and focus on its upcoming trip to California.
"Thursday's game against St. Francis will be interesting because they are the only team we haven't faced yet," Joseph said. "In two weeks we will make the trip to California, and I am eager to see how we match up against the West Coast style of play."
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