Behind steady Sabbatini, men's water polo earns trip to Final Four

On Nov. 14, in Lewisburg, Pa., senior goaltender Peter Sabbatini refused to let the men's water polo team lose. Princeton (25-6 overall) was locked in a battle with St. Francis in the College Water Polo Association's (CWPA) Eastern Conference championship game, a berth in the NCAA Final Four on the line.

The Tigers entered the game as slight favorites, after acquitting themselves well against some of the nation's best teams on their annual fall break trip to California and completing an undefeated regular season against CWPA competitors (10-0). The Tigers then breezed to three straight wins in the Southern Division tournament, before trouncing MIT, 12-9, and Harvard, 12-3, to reach the Eastern title game against St. Francis.

But the Eastern crown would not come easily. After three quarters, the game was knotted at two — an unusually low-scoring contest. Seven minutes later, at the end of regulation, the game remained tied. Another two periods of overtime weren't enough either, sending the game into a sudden death overtime period. Still, Sabbatini and his St. Francis counterpart, Alexander Stankovic, would not be beat, forcing a sudden death period.

Finally, one minute, 43 seconds in the fourth overtime, sophomore driver Nick Seaver took a pass from sophomore driver Chris Kelsch and rocketed the ball past Stankovic's shoulder. When the ball hit the back of the net, the entire team (25-6 overall), head coach Luis Nicalao included, dove into the pool in celebration, overjoyed to have earned Princeton's first trip to the Final Four since 1992.

"It was probably the biggest game of any of our lives," junior center Jamal Motlagh said.

Final Four

The Tigers would fall short of their ultimate dream of a national title, though not for lack of effort. In the national semifinals on Dec. 4 in Palo Alto, Calif., Princeton found itself locked in another low-scoring battle, this time with No. 1 seed UCLA. To the surprise of everyone but themselves, the Tigers evenly traded punches with the Bruins, never allowing them more than a one-goal lead.

Still, after UCLA pulled ahead early in the fourth quarter, 4-3, it appeared Princeton's dreams of an upset would not be fulfilled. But with just 45 seconds left in the game, junior driver John Stover found the back of the net, sending the game into overtime.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, they had exhausted their late-game magic against St. Francis. UCLA led, 5-4, after the first overtime period, then extended their lead to two in the second OT. Stover cut the deficit in half with 1:38 to go, but the Bruins put the game away with another goal just 12 seconds later, winning 7-5.

In the consolation game the following morning, Loyola-Marymount jumped to an early 2-1 lead, forcing the Tigers to play from behind. Each time Princeton cut the gap, the Lions responded to maintain their edge. The Tigers closed it to 5-4 in the third and 6-5 in the fourth, but could never quite get over the hump, ending their season in fourth place in the nation.

All-Americans

Princeton's magical season would not have been possible, of course, without Sabbatini, who earned the Eastern's Most Valuable Player Award and was named a first-team All-American. Over the course of the season, he made 195 saves, shutting down would-be goal-scorers again and again in his third year as the Tigers' starter between the pipes.

But Princeton didn't succeed with defense alone. The quietly intense Stover, who joined Sabbatini as a first team All-American, used his blazing speed and sharp shooting to lead the Princeton offense with 72 goals. The sophomore duo of Kelsch and Seaver led Stover's formidable supporting cast.

Nicolao was also honored for his role in guiding the Tigers — the American Water Polo Coaches Association named him the National Head Coach of the Year. In his seven years at the helm, Princeton has not only become an East Coast power, but also proved it can compete on the national stage in a sport traditionally dominated by West Coast schools.