When your team features two All-Americans, ends the league season undefeated for the fourth consecutive year and goes on to win the conference tournament with dramatic victories over three of your biggest rivals, what do you do for an encore?
For women's water polo the answer is simple: Do it all over again.
The team's goals for this season are as high as ever, a sentiment emphasized by head coach Luis Nicolao: remain spotless in league play, finish first in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament and make a strong run towards a title at the Southern Championships.
That run begins this weekend at Denunzio Pool, where the Tigers play host for the season-opening Princeton Invitational. Princeton faces a daunting weekend lineup with four games in two days, including showdowns with two of its biggest rivals.
The Tigers meet Harvard (2-1 overall) at 8:20 p.m. Saturday and No. 8 Michigan (6-3) at 10:00 the following morning. Princeton rounds out its weekend matches with Marist (1-4) on Saturday morning at 9:00 and George Washington (0-0) at 5:00 Sunday evening.
Rematches
Both the Harvard and Michigan games are rematches of heated post-season contests from last season. The Tigers knocked off the Crimson 10-7 in the ECAC semifinals and bested them again three weeks later, 11-6, in their own pool. The Wolverines, however, ended the Tigers' season the next day in a 9-5 win.
The Tigers are a team that pride themselves on being determined and aggressive, which Nicolao called a hallmark of this consistently successful program.
While those expectations remain as high as ever, Princeton's strategy may be a bit different from normal. This year's Tiger squad will be forced to work together in order to compensate for the loss of co-captains and All-Americans Jenny Edwards '03 and 2003 Daily Princetonian Female Athlete of the Year Adele McCarthy-Beauvais '03.
Princeton's style will be affected by the departure of those key players.
"Compared to years past we are not as physically big," junior goalkeeper Madeline McCarthy said, but we are much quicker in the water and have much more of an outside game."
This year the scoring load should me more evenly spread throughout the young squad.
"We won't be relying on just one or two girls," Nicolao said. "We expect a lot of girls to contribute. We should be very balanced."
Young team
One of the tests the Tigers will endure will be the performance of its newest members, as players with limited experience are called upon to step up from the moment the season begins. The lineup features only two seniors and three juniors, with underclassmen making up the rest of the squad — including a whopping ten freshmen on the team's opening day roster.
While noting that the number of first-year players is higher than usual, Nicolao expressed enthusiasm about the overall talent and skill of the group.
Such optimism is easy to come by in light of the strong leadership offered by Princeton's returning players. Senior captain Anne Olson should continue to be an asset on both ends of the pool. She boasted 12 goals and 16 assists last year for the Tigers. Strong production is expected from junior Kathryn Parolin, following a 24-goal, eight-assist campaign last season, while sophomore Megan Donahue garnered recognition as the 2003 Southern Rookie of the Year, posting an impressive 36 goals and 19 assists.
Diving right in
The Tigers waste no time before facing tough competition. Unlike other sports, water polo does not enjoy the luxury of a long preseason to work out early problems.
The demanding schedule will test the Tigers' endurance. "these past two weeks the team has been plagued with injuries and illness," McCarthy said, "so we are focusing right now on staying healthy."
That 9-5 loss to Michigan in Cambridge, Mass. was the final contest for last year's seniors. This Sunday, as the Tigers and Wolverines match up, Princeton has a chance to beat Michigan and do what last year's team couldn't: Win their own way.
After the weekend tournament, the Tigers get 11 days off before hosting Villanova on Feb. 26, when the thick of their season begins.
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