Princeton romps on senior night

The seniors on the men's water polo team made sure their last game at DeNunzio Pool would be a success, destroying Queens, 18-7, in a non-league contest on Thursday night.

Princeton (16-8 overall, 7-3 College Water Polo Association) came out strong, scoring five goals in the first quarter, while Queens could muster only two.

The Tigers were sluggish, however, in the beginning of the second period, and the Knights took advantage of Princeton's temporary lapse to post two quick goals, including one fortuitous floater.

Senior co-captain and driver John Stover and junior driver Benny Reitz answered with solid drives into the back of the net to rally the Tigers. Despite facing a large deficit, Queens fought back and added another goal to its overall total.

Princeton made a surge at the end of the period as Reitz snuck one into the left corner of the goal with 17 seconds left, and a Tiger steal left junior driver Sean Dryden undefended. He scored easily with three seconds left to give Princeton a 9-5 lead going into halftime.

The Tigers left their lethargy in the locker room and never looked back, as sophomore utility Joe Rogan opened second half scoring.

The Knights retaliated with a goal, but it would be their last for the quarter. From then on, four different Tigers got involved in the scoring action. Junior driver Chris Kelsch scored on abreakaway, Rogan nonchalantly tossed another into the net, senior driver Sam Bliss scored his first goal of the season and freshman driver David de L'Arbre chipped in one.

Defense improved on both sides in the fourth quarter, but senior driver T.J. Edwards still managed to find the goal, his first of the year. The Knights came up with one final tally before freshman utility Alex Edmunds scored the final goal with 1:08 to play.

The game served as the final home game for the illustrious Class of 2006: Stover, Edwards, Bliss, Dean Riskas, Jamal Motlagh, Morgner, Mike McKenna and Jake Harter.

On Oct. 29, those senior will lead the Tigersinto the Southern Division Championships in Annapolis, Md.

The Tigers find themselves in an unfamiliar place, having succumbed to Navy last weekend, giving the Midshipmen the No. 1 seed for the tournament. Princeton has had a long history of success at Southerns, however, and should challenge Navy for the crown. Johns Hopkins, which surprisingly beat Princeton in overtime last weekend, will also contend.

While the Southern Championships are certainly of great importance, the Tigers' ultimate focus is on the Eastern Championships two weeks later, where a title would mean a berth in the NCAA final four.