M. water polo back on East Coast

After a less-than-stellar run in California two weeks ago, the men's water polo team will try to continue its East Coast domination this weekend. Princeton hits the road today for an exhausting four-game weekend in Annapolis, Md. and Washington, D.C. The Tigers will be looking to turn their luck around as they take on Johns Hopkins, Salem, Bucknell and George Washington.

"Each game is a learning experience and going out west is always a test of what we can do against other teams," senior goalkeeper Pete Sabbatini said. "We learned a lot from that weekend and hopefully we can apply what we've learned."

"We're considering this weekend as a stepping stone for Southerns and Easterns," junior goalkeeper Gant Morgner said.

The marquee matchup takes place Saturday evening against Bucknell. The Bisons will likely pose the greatest challenge for the Tigers this weekend. Bucknell is the only team Princeton has not yet seen this year, and unlike previous years it will not be a team to shrug off.

"I'm really looking forward to playing Bucknell," junior center Jamal Motlagh said. "Our goal of winning the Eastern Championships will be contingent on knowing how to play them and beat them."

The Bison heraled in a new chapter in their water polo history with their 8-6 win over Navy earlier this season. Princeton defeated Navy, 11-10, in their only matchup this season. The Bisons have also faced Johns Hopkins and Salem, with similar results as the Tigers, earning two wins. Their much improved performance has earned them the No. 17 slot in the latest College Water Polo Association poll.

"We've always known they've been a decent team and now they've shown us they can give us a run for our money," Morgner said. "Their star player is actually a friend of ours."

That friend is junior Bradley Roslyn — a high school teammate and friend of junior attack Mike McKenna. He has been leading the offensive charge for the Bisons so far this season.

Saturday morning's games against Johns Hopkins and Salem will be good primers for the Bucknell game. The Tigers' last encounters with these two teams resulted in two wins, 16-11 and 14-10, respectively.

"The thing with Salem is that we played them in a 25-yard pool so we don't really know what to expect from them in a 30-meter pool," Sabbatini noted. "Hopkins always comes out with intensity so we never put them aside at all. We don't take any team for granted."

Ending the weekend against George Washington will also give Princeton a good chance at ending the weekend with a win. The Tigers destroyed the Colonials, 14-6, at the ECAC tournament three weeks ago.

Since last week's game against Queens was cancelled, the Tigers had the luxury of a rare week off. This layoff has given them extra time to focus on passing and their man-up opportunities, two aspects that have needed sharpening this season.

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"I actually thought in California that we began to improve converting our 6-on-5s, so I think we will probably continue to improve," junior driver John Stover said. "We learned how to pull out some close games, and we also learned that [head coach] Luis [Nicolao] is prone to falling into pools."

Nicolao, who now has a record of 2-for-16 for falling into pools at meets, will try to stay dry as he paces the pool deck this weekend. Both incidents happened during the Tigers' trip to California — both on the same day.

"That was priceless," Sabbatini said. "I was in the pool and I was paying attention to the game and I looked left and he was just dripping wet. The second time I was like, 'You have got to be kidding me!'"

Aside from a slight lack of balance, the team is doing well health-wise. The Tigers are suffering from little more than the mid-season aches and pains.

"We have nothing that the guys can't play through when asked to take the burn," Morgner said.