ECAC title on the line at weekend tourney

As the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships approach this weekend, the members of the women's water polo team (14-5) have one thing on their minds: victory. And according to head coach Luis Nicolao, the one word to describe the Tigers is "Confident!"

Princeton began its season by stringing together some impressive victories, and as of early March, the Tigers were 10-0. The Tigers' confidence was bolstered by solid wins over conference rivals and a couple of clutch victories over perennial powerhouses, including an overtime-win over No. 17 Indiana (17-8).

To get ready for the most important games of the season, the Orange and Black headed to California for spring break to take on the traditionally strong West Coast teams. Though the Tigers sustained some lopsided defeats at the hands of No. 2 Stanford (14-3) and No. 6 Cal (6-4), the games provided Princeton with some solid experience against top-ranked teams.

The trip also gave the Tigers a chance to analyze their weaknesses, which were heavily exploited by the Stanford Cardinal. Princeton has surely been focusing on its defensive execution and transition offense in these final days before the championships.

"I think the trip to California made us realize that we need to focus a lot more on our perimeter defense. Stanford especially ran a strong press against us, which made it difficult to set up our offense. We've spent a lot of time this week working on our press defense and we'd like to force turnovers on the other teams that could lead to counterattack goals," junior driver Karina Reyner said.

Nicolao also described the trip as a positive experience, noting that the Tigers are a stronger team because of it.

The games revealed that "We are still having trouble scoring at times," Nicolao said. He remains confident, though, that it will come together for the Tigers soon.

The Tigers are the top seed in ECAC tournament this weekend, which has nine participating teams. Princeton will play the winner of the Villanova vs. Gannon game. The Wildcats (0-7) and the Golden Knights (8-4) are the two bottom seeds of the tournament, so the Tigers should have little trouble getting past them and into the semifinals. In fact, Princeton handed 'Nova a crushing 14-3 defeat in its first game of the season, so the Tigers should be feeling pretty confident. Though Gannon is the last seed of the tournament, they should not be underestimated, as they have won their last six contests.

If the Tigers do make it into the second round, they will face the winner of the game between Wagner (14-10) and Brown (6-12). This game should not yield any surprises, however, as the Tigers defeated the Bears head to head and won a tournament with Wagner earlier this season.

Nicolao, however, remains cautious, and won't underestimate the potential of any team.

"At this time of the year everybody is a threat. We are in the last third of our season; we cannot afford to take any team lightly," Nicolao said.

It is also possible that the Tigers will face the Bucknell Bison (17-5) during the tournament, and they may pose a significant threat. Princeton has seen Bucknell twice already this season and has succeeded in pulling out narrow one-point victories both times.

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"We've played Bucknell to two close games this season so they will definitely be our biggest competition. We lost to Maryland for the first time ever, which was extremely disappointing so we're really looking forward to a rematch," Reyner said.

In preparing for the upcoming tournament, the Tigers have been focusing on the little aspects of the game that could ultimately prove fatal.

"This week we've had some of the best practices all year. We've been focusing a lot on maintaining a strong press on the perimeter and I think this will dramatically improve our defense for the weekend," Reyner said.

The Tigers' confidence is well deserved — they have had an impressive season. And with their newly tightened defense and potentially potent offense, Princeton may top off an already successful season with an ECAC championship.