M. water polo 2-2 at NorCal Tourney

Going into this weekend, the men's water polo team was 10-1 and one of the premier squads on the East Coast. But in a sport decidedly dominated by the West Coast, no team's season would be complete without the opportunity to compete and prove itself against the nation's top teams. And No. 11 Princeton — Collegiate Coaches Water Polo Poll — got the chance to do just that this weekend as the team flew to California to play Stanford before competing in the prestigious NorCal Tournament in Stockton, Calif.

No. 1 Stanford (11-2) is the class of college water polo, and the Tigers (12-4) knew that they would have their hands full in the game. While Princeton expected one of the most challenging matches of the season, familiarity was not enough to overcome the Cardinal's superior skills. Stanford proved too much for the Tigers to handle as it pulled ahead by eight goals at halftime and never let down.

Sophomore driver Chris Kelsch scored twice for Princeton in the losing effort, while sophomore center Nicholas Seaver and sophomore driver Ben Reitz both added a goal apiece. Senior All-American goalkeeper Peter Sabbatini and freshman goalie Scott Syrveson split time in net, helping to keep the team afloat with a total of seven saves. Despite the valiant effort, the Tigers finally fell to the Cardinal, 15-4.

But the Tigers did not have much time to lament their tough loss as they immediately left to travel to Stockton, Calif., where the University of the Pacific was hosting the NorCal Tournament.

Princeton opened its tournament with a close 8-7 loss to No. 10 UC Santa Barbara (13-5). Though the Tigers fought back from a first quarter 2-0 deficit, it wasn't enough to overtake the strong opposition. The loss was disappointing for Princeton, which, as an East Coast team, was hoping to leave its mark on esteemed West Coast water polo. "We didn't play our best game or capitalize on all of our opportunities," sophomore driver Kyle Morgan said. "So we lost to a team that eventually played for fifth place."

Despite the frustration of the loss, the Tigers proved their resilience as they quickly recovered to defeat No. 19 Air Force (2-13), 11-6, later that afternoon. Junior driver Dean Riskas scored a pair of goals while sophomore center Nicholas Seaver's hat trick put Princeton out of harm's reach.

Sunday morning's contest proved to be another success for the Tigers. The squad outmaneuvered No. 14 UC Davis (10-9) by a score of 10-9. But the two teams battled hard for the win, exchanging the lead nearly every quarter and taking the game into overtime. It was Princeton's two overtime goals to UC Davis' one that gave the Tigers the narrow victory.

Contributions by junior driver John Stover and sophomore utility Reid Joseph, both of whom found the back of the net three times, kept the team alive in the tough competition. Sabbatini's impressive nine saves also helped the Tigers' effort.

However, Princeton's weekend success promptly ended when it met No. 12 Long Beach State (8-5) in its last game of the tournament. Though the Tigers held on tightly to the 49ers for the majority of the game, a decisive fourth quarter, in which Long Beach outscored Princeton, 4-2, sealed the deal and gave the 49ers the 10-7 victory.

Although the loss dropped the Tigers' tournament record to a disappointing 2-2, was disappointing, the team played well and proved its worth among the nation's elite programs. Stover added four goals to his count, giving him seven of the 10 Princeton goals scored on Sunday. Seaver scored twice, and Kelsch also got his name on the score sheet.

Though the Tigers did not fare as well as they might have hoped on the West Coast, the difficult games should prove useful to Princeton in the postseason.