Undefeated m. water polo invades Cambridge and ECACs

There's no doubt about it – a No. 9 national ranking and an 8-0 record are statistics any team would die for.

But for the successful men's water polo team, the road ahead is still long and satisfaction will never be complete without the distant Eastern Championship title. The Tigers will have an opportunity this weekend to get one step closer to the division crown as they compete in the ECAC Championships in Cambridge, Mass.

That step will be a difficult one, and Princeton must not lose its balance as it faces its toughest league competition, including traditional rivals Navy (5-5) and St. Francis (9-2). The Tigers defeated Navy last year in the ECAC championship game. Since then, Princeton lost to the Midshipmen at Easterns — the season's most important tournament — last November. Because this loss is more heavily weighted, Princeton is seeded second in the tournament behind No. 1 Navy and in front of No. 3 St. Francis.

The seeding arrangement places each of the top three teams in a different bracket, which should make for exciting semifinal and final matches on Sunday.

Princeton, in Bracket B, will have to beat George Washington and Iona on Saturday in order to play in the semifinal match Sunday morning.

If the Tigers reach the semis, they will play the winner from Bracket C, which will most likely be St. Francis. The Terriers, currently tied with Princeton as No. 9 in the nation, will have to go through Johns Hopkins and MIT to move on to Sunday's rounds.

Whoever emerges as the victor of the semifinal match will move on to play the winner of Bracket A in the final on Sunday afternoon. Bracket A, which is shaping up to be dominated by a strong Navy squad, includes fourth seed Queens College, Bucknell, and host team Harvard.

Though the tournament is early in the season, and the results might be a premature gauge, it should be a good indicator as to who are the most competitive teams in the East. This insight will shed some light onto what the Tigers should expect at Easterns in November.

"Of course we're going to give [our] all in every game, but our ultimate goal is to win Easterns, and these tournaments leading up to Southerns are just preparation for the games that will determine our ultimate success come November and December," sophomore driver Chris Kelsch.

Detrimental to the season or not, winning this tournament will also preserve the Tigers' currently perfect record. But with a narrow 11-10 victory over a strong Navy squad last weekend, as well as a physical and exhausting win over St. Francis two weeks ago, Princeton will certainly have to deliver as well and as consistently as it has been doing all season to accomplish this.

"St. Francis is really going to be gunning for us, and considering our first game against them was pretty rough, the team's going to have to be ready for even more punishment this time," Kelsch said.

In preparation for the matches, the team has been working on its endurance and counterattack, which will be crucial against the fast-paced Navy squad. In order to overtake their competitors, the Tigers will also have to rely on their consistently strong finishing, as well as their calm, collected fourth-quarter playmaking.

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In the past, the tightly-knit and dedicated squad has had no problem putting in the hard work and reaping the benefits, and this weekend looks to be no different.

"Our team chemistry continues to develop each day, along with our burgeoning mustaches," sophomore Kyle Morgan said. "And we'll be looking to the wisdom and guidance of our sage-like coaches and role models."

Mustaches, tiny speedos, padded caps and all, the Tigers, in what may be one of the best seasons the program has ever had, are looking to make their mark this weekend and prove that they will be a force to be reckoned with come November.