There seems to be no limit to the women's water polo team's potential as they continually improve throughout the season.In a powerful showing this past weekend, Princeton (26-7 overall, 11-0 College Water Polo Association Southern Division) again asserted its dominance in the CWPA Southern Division, earning the Southern Championships tournament title with successive blowouts of Maryland, Salem International and Bucknell.
Undefeated in the Southern Division during the regular season, the Tigers were considered the clear favorite entering the tournament. Princeton, which had just played George Washington and Maryland in a two-game road trip earlier this month, again showed the Colonials and Terps, along with the Bisons, it was the team to beat. No team in the Southern Division threatened to terminate the Tigers' current 11-game winning streak. The team's offensive performance was highlighted by many counterattack goals, according to sophomore utility Elyse Colgan.
Saturday's competition consisted of round-robin play, with Princeton facing Maryland and Salem International in Bracket A. The Tigers recently defeated the Terrapins (12-19, 4-9) in their final regular season win on April 9 and repeated the favor with a 12-4 win. Princeton controlled play throughout the contest, limiting the Terps to just one goal in each quarter.
The Tigers then obliterated Salem International, which has not won a single division game all season, 10-1. Freshman goalie Natalie Kim and her senior backup, Madeline McCarthy, both made unusual appearances on Princeton's scoring list.
Throughout Bracket A play, the unstoppable sophomore duo of drivers Jazmin Brown and Danielle Carlson led the Tigers' offense, racking up four and six total goals, respectively. Brown, Carlson and Colgan, who had two goals against Salem, are the team's three leading goal-scorers on the season.
As the winner of the Bracket A play, Princeton faced Bucknell (22-9, 8-3) on Sunday, which narrowly beat George Washington (13-14, 6-5) and then bulldozed past Maryland to advance to the championship game.
Entering the title game, the Tigers had the clear advantage in two senses. First, Princeton was much more experienced in such a situation. The Bison entered the championship game for the first time in the history of the program, while the game is old hat to the Tigers, who won Southerns last season and four of the past six years.
Princeton also already boasted a 2-0 record versus Bucknell this season. While the two earlier contests were not blowout wins, the Tigers had clearly maintained the upper hand in prior competition, beating the Bison by fourand five-goal margins. Though the Bison were hosting Southerns at Kinney Natatorium, their home pool, that small advantage could not overcome Princeton's experience and superiority.
The Tigers again amassed another five-goal margin victory in the 8-3 defeat of Bucknell in the title match. Brown led Princeton with three goals in the contest.
In addition to the Tigers' offensive power, equally impressive in the game was Princeton's defensive presence in the cage. Kim did not allow a single goal in the first three quarters of play, grabbing seven saves. McCarthy then replaced Kim and racked up three saves.
The Bucknell game gave the Tigers good preparation for their Eastern Championships play next weekend. Princeton will likely face Michigan in the semifinals and Indiana in the finals if they can advance in the single-elimination preliminary round. Both of these teams boast strong, big players, so the Bucknell game gave the Tigers a good taste of the physical play it may encounter this coming weekend.
"The refs weren't really calling a lot," Colgan said. "The Bucknell game was definitely the most physical game."
Princeton must also be prepared to find a way to score off of Michigan's and Indiana's strong goalies.
"[To prepare], we just basically work on catching and shooting," Colgan said. "You catch them off guard."
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