It's "go time" in the pool again.
This weekend the women's water polo team travels to Villanova, Pa., where Princeton (19-8) will try to win the Southern Championships. Coming off of a disappointing third-place finish at the ECAC Championships two weeks ago, a title that the women brought home in 2003, the Tigers hope to tuck another tournament win under their belts.
The two-week interim since ECACs has given Princeton some time to work on offensive plays, specifically its 6-on-5 offensive plays, which it has consistently struggled with since the beginning of the season. Though the Tigers have frequently found themselves in man-up situations, they have been unable to really capitalize on such opportunities and convert those advantages into goals.
"We have been working a lot on our 6-on-5 man-up offense in practice," junior center Kathryn Parolin said, "so hopefully this weekend we will be able to capitalize on all of our man-up situations."
The game that the Tigers played against Team U.S.A. at DeNunzio Pool on Tuesday night also helped to bolster the team's confidence. Princeton was the sixth in a 13-school collegiate tour for world No. 1 and 2004 Olympic-favorite Team U.S.A. The Tigers managed to score eight goals against U.S.A., the most goals anybody has been able to zing past the national team on its tour, which Parolin called "exciting."
"I thought the U.S.A. game went well," Parolin said. "It was really exciting playing against the best players in the country as well as one of the best teams, if not the best, in the world. If we can score eight goals on them, we should be able to score just as many against our other competition."
Southerns will find the Tigers up against several teams that they have faced numerous times this season and have decisively defeated each time. Five teams will be competing at Villanova this weekend, including Villanova, Maryland, Bucknell, Princeton and George Washington. Princeton goes into the tournament seeded No. 1, with GW seeded No. 2.
This will hardly be the first time that the Tigers have found themselves up against these four teams this season. As these other competitors all play in the same league, Princeton has already played each team at least twice. The Tigers have yet to lose to any of the four teams, and, if all goes as planned, they should be able to take home the Southern Championships title this weekend.
Princeton first faced off against the George Washington Colonials (15-9) at the beginning of February, ousting them, 13-3. After a second Princeton win, the two met for the third time in the final weekend of March at a tournament which was the most recent meeting between Southerns competitors. The Tigers were victorious once again, but this time they just barely eked out the win with the Colonials closing in and barely losing, 7-6.
Princeton first took on Villanova in February in the waters of DeNunzio. The Wildcats (7-13) fell, 15-5, to the Tigers. It was not until the end of March at the aforementioned tournament that the Tigers and the Wildcats came face-to-face for the second time. Princeton was hardly friendlier this time around, sending Villanova home with a 14-8 loss.
The Maryland Terrapins (0-8) met the Tigers the day after their second defeat of the Colonials and found themselves overrun by the strong Princeton squad. The Tigers left College Park, Md. victorious, winning the first matchup, 17-7. The second time that the two teams met, again at the end of March, the Terps went home defeated yet again, this time falling to the Tigers, 12-1.
Bucknell has fared no better against Princeton in the two games they have played this season. In the first game, the Bisons (12-16) fell to the Tigers, 11-5, in their home pool. In their second meeting, this time in the waters of DeNunzio, Bucknell collapsed under the weight of the Tigers, 11-8.
While the old sports adage that "it ain't over 'til it's over" still holds, this weekend certainly looks good for the Tigers. The last two weeks have given Princeton time to work on new strategies and prepare for this tournament, which itself should also help prepare the Tigers for the much more competitive Eastern Championships following weekend in Lewisburg, Pa.
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