W. water polo powers to four weekend wins

When junior center Kathryn Parolin's shot hit the back of the net, putting the women's water polo team up, 7-6, over George Washington on Sunday, it sealed Princeton's fourth win for the weekend and its fifth consecutive win since returning from Spring Break.

Over the break, the Tigers (17-7) traveled to the competitive arena of California and played seven teams over the course of six days.

Why? Because 12 of the top 20 teams in the nation reside in California. Princeton is one of only four teams from the Collegiate Water Polo Association represented in the top 20 teams ranked nationally. The Tigers certainly know that in order to be the best, you have to play the best.

This past weekend marked the end of Princeton's regular season and a chance to apply the lessons learned from the West Coast to teams here in the East. The Tigers ran up against all four of their Southern Division opponents – Maryland and Bucknell on Saturday, Villanova early Sunday and rounded out the weekend with George Washington late Sunday afternoon.

Despite going undefeated this weekend, the Tigers did not seem to bring the same intensity that characterized their play over break. Some credited this drop in intensity to the easier schedule.

"Over Spring Break we had a lot higher competition," freshman defender Danielle Carlson said. "This weekend we played teams that were less competition and there was not as much excitement."

Early Saturday, Princeton defeated Maryland, 12-1, but the Terrapins are a new addition to Div. I water polo, having only joined the CWPA this season.

Against Bucknell, the Tigers had a little more difficulty but ultimately won, 11-8. Despite two goals by sophomore driver Megan Donahue, the Bisons managed to keep the scored tied at two after the first quarter. Three more goals each by Donahue and freshman utility Elyse Colgan in the second and third quarters put Princeton in the lead, but Bucknell answered back with five of its own to keep within one coming into the fourth and final quarter. But the Tigers' defense would hold the Bisons scoreless in the fourth, and Donahue scored another goal to propel Princeton to the win.

Villanova was a great win for the Tigers, as they dominated throughout. Princeton jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the opening stanza. The Wildcats would get as close as 6-4 in the second quarter, but the Tigers did not let up, scoring five more in the third and three in the fourth to retain the lead, winning 14-8. Freshman driver Jazmin Brown recorded five goals en route to Princeton's third win of the weekend.

As hot as Princeton started out against Villanova, the team was that cold early against George Washington. The Colonials put four goals on the board in the first quarter, while Carlson netted the Tigers' lone goal. Again, the problem may have been overconfidence.

"We just assumed we would beat them," Carlson said. "We had beaten them once already."

After the second quarter, George Washington still led, 5-3, and it was time for Princeton to make a move. The Tigers used goals from Brown, Donahue and sophomore utility Courtney Mee, along with solid defense, to claw their way to their first lead of the game with the score 6-5 after the third quarter. Parolin's score in the fourth overcame a tying goal by the Colonials minutes before. The defense held strong for the remainder of the contest, delivering Princeton its fourth win of the weekend.