During this past week of enormous caffeine consumption, lack of sleep and grueling cram sessions, most Princeton students maintained their sanity by knowing that Fall Break would bring a restful vacation of laying out at the beach or lounging beside the pool.
It is quite another story for the men's water polo team.
The Tigers are coming off of a four-win weekend, decisively defeating Salem International, Bucknell, Johns Hopkins and George Washington to improve their record to 16-4 (8-0 Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division). Princeton, led by sharpshooting junior driver John Stover, will not spend Fall Break resting or lounging.
The upcoming vacation is a crucial time for the Tigers. The pressure is on. Their postseason future depends on their ability to win out this next week and to emerge as the outright champion of the Southern bracket.
Beginning Saturday, the Tigers will be finishing up their regular season in Lewisburg, Pa., competing against Bucknell and Navy, both teams they have previously defeated.
However, both teams will come to the pool ready to end the Tigers' four-game winning streak, especially Bucknell. The elbow-throwing, swimsuit-ripping struggle between Princeton and the Bisons of Bucknell (13-9, 5-3) last weekend resulted in a 10-9 victory for the Tigers.
The Bison men want revenge, and what could be more perfect than victory on their own turf in front of their own hostile, screaming fans?
The Tigers recognize the significance of this game and the effect its outcome will have going into the postseason.
The Navy (13-9, 7-1) matchup is no less important. The Midshipmen are second in the CWPA South, just a game back of Princeton. Navy also has unfinished business with the Tigers.
On Sept. 18, Princeton, led by four goals from Stover and three goals from sophomore utility Reid Joseph, as well as solid defense and an impressive eight saves from senior goalie Peter Sabbatini, squeaked by with an 11-10 win.
Knowing those circumstances, men's water polo does not just have two away games this weekend. It has two games that will determine seeds in the Southern Championships that take place at the end of Fall Break.
Princeton will either walk away 10-0 in its division and clearly the leader of the pack, or they could end in a three-way tie, or worse.
"This weekend is a must-win situation," junior driver Dean Riskas said. Riskas scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Salem last weekend. "We have come so far and worked so hard all season, and this year, we have the potential to not only win the Southern Division, but also to advance far in the NCAAs."
After the trip to Lewisburg, the Tigers will return to campus for a week of practice with one thing on their mind: winning the Southern Division Championships.
Those will be held in DeNunzio Pool beginning Friday, Oct. 29, and continue through that Sunday.
Riskas and the rest of the Tigers are confident about advancing far in Southerns, which would be a springboard to NCAAs.
"We have seen the competition here on the east coast and back in California," Riskas said. "We know what we need to do, and we are ready."
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