"Just Sink 'em" reads the large orange sign that hangs in DeNunzio Pool. This past weekend, the Princeton men's water polo team did just that. The Tigers were the masters of their own house at last weekend's North/South Invitational Tournament, winning all four games.
Friday night, Princeton (4-0) faced Queens College, winners of last year's Eastern Conference Championships, in what was expected to be the Tigers' toughest game. It turned out to be a field day, as Princeton easily took a 10-1 victory.
"We had a great start," head coach Luis Nicolao said. "It was a good defensive effort. We made it hard for them to score goals."
Hard?
Try almost impossible.
Junior Peter Sabbatini allowed only one goal, which came in the final eight seconds of the game.
Another factor that almost certainly contributed to the stomping was the absence of the Knights' best player, Michel Vieira, who was trying out for the Brazilian national team.
Sinking Ivy Rivals
The next day's victory was not so easily taken as the Tigers struggled early on against Harvard. Down 4-2 in the second quarter, sophomore Jamal Motlagh's creative play started the comeback Princeton needed, as he netted the Tigers' third goal.
Although they encountered some difficulty early in the first and second quarters, the Tigers pulled through to beat the Crimson, 11-7.
"It was a good team effort, and Serela got us real fired," senior Danny Holligan said in reference to assistant coach Serela Kay's pre-game pep talk.
Sophomore John Stover helped Princeton with a game-high four goals against the Crimson.
"We knew from the beginning that it was our game to win," Stover said.
That same night, the Tigers suited up again to take on Brown, showing no signs of fatigue as they stomped the Bears, 14-8.
Sophomore Jacob Harter, Stover, and Holligan all tallied goals to set the team up for an early 4-1 first-quarter lead.
Freshman Reid Joseph stood out among the rookies in the game as he stepped up and helped the Tigers net two more scores.
Overall, the freshmen handled their first taste of college play quite well, adding depth and vitality that kept the Tigers fresh and on top of their game.
"I thought the freshmen played well," Stover said. "It's good to have a lot of subs. We were able to sub whole lines out."
Stover certainly did not have that bad a game himself, scoring three goals versus Brown. Furthermore, he finished the tournament with a total of 14 goals, making him undoubtedly Princeton's outstanding player of the weekend.
"Stover did amazing," Motlagh said. "He's fast and he has heart."
Stover's skill was also instrumental in Sunday's game as the Tigers took an early lead against Iona at the end of the first quarter.
"I'm glad we got off to a good start and jumped on them early," Stover said.
Preventing the comeback
But the Gaels came back in the second quarter, giving Princeton's defense a tough time and narrowing the gap to one goal, 5-4. This included a goal from a penalty shot for Iona two minutes into the second quarter.
"I guess defensively we kind of had a lapse there," Stover said. "We're still trying to figure out what kind of defensive scheme we're running."
Sabbatini kept things together, however, finishing the game with five saves and two steals and helping the Tigers top Iona, 10-6.
Princeton will use the tournament as a learning experience as it expects to hold on to its winning record when it faces George Washington on Friday.
"It's been a good weekend for us," said Motlagh. "We saw what we needed to work on and what we did well."
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