After fending off a relentless onslaught of top-tier opponents to open the season, including No. 12 Hartwick, No. 14 Long Beach State and No. 15 Santa Clara, the women's water polo team finally got a chance to rest last weekend — well, sort of.
Princeton was in Cambridge, Mass., over the weekend for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships, a contest it hasn't lost since 2004.
No. 18 Princeton (7-4 overall) trounced Slippery Rock (0-6) and Maryland (6-9) in the opening rounds of the tournament, which was hosted by Harvard. Then, in the title game, the Tigers edged Ivy rival Brown (5-2) for a third consecutive championship.
Princeton's freshmen continued to amaze, as utility players Phoebe Champion and Helen Meigs scored seven goals and three goals, respectively. Fellow frosh, center defender Lauren Sabb, contributed four goals despite a shoulder injury.
"They [the freshmen] are getting more and more comfortable," head coach Luis Nicolao said. "Really, we don't look at them as freshmen anymore."
Tigers Sweep Competition
Princeton, the highest-seeded team in the eight-team tournament, opened Saturday morning against Slippery Rock, the lowest-seeded team in the tournament. The Tigers leapt to a quick 4-0 first quarter lead, took a 7-2 advantage into halftime and never looked back. As expected, the Tigers easily disposed of the Rock, 16-5, despite its goalie Lauren Surbaugh's impressive 11 saves.
Princeton's goalie, junior Natalie Kim, wasn't nearly as busy as her Slippery Rock counterpart, but she still recorded eight saves in the win. Champion and Sabb had two goals each.
Next up for the Tigers was Maryland. In their Feb. 10 meeting, Princeton snuck past Maryland, 15-12. But this time, things were different. The Princeton offense exploded for 16 points in the tournament's semifinal game, while Kim and the defense kept the ball on the Terrapins' side of the pool.
In the first half, the Tigers' play was nearly flawless. Senior utility player Elyse Colgan netted four goals, senior driver Karina Reyner scored three and Kim saved nine. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded in Blodgett Pool, the Orange and Black had built a 10-4 lead. Princeton consolidated its gains in the second half, cruising to a 13-7 victory. With that win, Nicolao's squad advanced to the title game against Brown.
The Bears proved much more formidable than the Tigers' first two opponents. Princeton's offense was constrained by a tough and experienced Brown defense, though the Tigers' defense was equally stingy.
Reyner and Champion added two goals each, lifting Princeton to a 7-6 win. Kim had 11 saves in the cage.
The team, however, was lucky to escape Cambridge with the title. The Tigers' 5-3 halftime lead slowly evaporated in the second half, as Princeton's offense failed to convert numerous opportunities, though its defense held tight. Nicolao noted his team's poor shooting against Brown — the Tigers racked up 26 missed shots in Sunday's game.
Colgan's seven tournament goals bring her season total to 27. Colgan, Reyner and Kim received First Team All-ECAC status for their performances, while senior center Samantha Shaughnessy earned Second Team honors. Colgan was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
But after passing their first big test of the season, the Tigers still have two even bigger challenges looming on the horizon — the Southern and Eastern Championships. Nicolao has already begun gearing up his squad for those critical tournaments, which fall on the last two weekends of April.
"I think we're just going keep working hard and not get complacent," Nicolao said. "I think we're pretty focused, and I think the girls know that they've got to just keep working hard, and we'll see what happens in April."
Princeton will face Bucknell on March 9 in its 2007 home opener at DeNunzio Pool, and on March 10, the Tigers will play Maryland for the third time in a month.
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