Last Saturday, Maryland scored a stunning and demoralizing upset victory over the women's water polo team in the finals of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division Championships. This Saturday, Princeton (18-8 overall, 7-1 CWPA) will get its chance for revenge at the region's most important tournament — the CWPA Eastern Championships — when the Tigers challenge the Terrapins (15-16, 6-2) in the opening round of the single-elimination event.
"Our girls have been excited all year for this game," head coach Luis Nicolao said. "The fact that we lost last weekend to Maryland adds some extra excitement, but we're just glad to get the Eastern Championships going."
In the finals of the Southern Championships, Nicolao's team was in the midst of a near-epic comeback. With less than a minute remaining in the title game, the heavily favored Princeton squad was tied with league rival Maryland. A sixth-straight win and a fourth-straight Southern Division title was within reach. Then, with two seconds left in regulation, Maryland's Elizabeth Hopkins arched back and fired a shot past junior goalkeeper Natalie Kim, securing a shocking 9-8 Terrapin win.
This week, however, the tables are turned. While Maryland enjoyed home pool advantage at the Southern Championships, Princeton will host the Eastern Championships at DeNunzio Pool. The advantage of playing at home is difficult to estimate but almost impossible to overstate. Princeton has won 25 consecutive matches at DeNunzio — a streak that dates back to Feb. 16, 2003, before any of the current seniors were freshmen.
"It's definitely really nice to have it at home," freshman center defender Lauren Sabb said. "It's good to be finally able to play at [DeNunzio] with all of our fans here."
On paper, the Tigers should be able to handle the Terrapins, with or without home-pool advantage. Princeton was victorious over Maryland in all four of their regular season meetings. The Orange and Black can also lay claim to the East Coast's leading scorer, senior utility Elyse Colgan, and the Southern Division's best goalie, Kim. It's no surprise, then, that Princeton is a No. 3 seed heading into Easterns, while Maryland is a No. 6 seed.
But last week the Tigers were defeated even with all of these advantages. Poor shot selection plagued the team in that contest. This time, Princeton needs to come out with the right mindset and get its offense going early in the game.
"We just have to come out ready this week," Sabb said. "And I guarantee you that we will be a lot more ready this week than we were last week. We're ready to play."
Besides Princeton and Maryland, the Eastern Championships includes six of the region's best teams. If the Tigers win their first game, they will likely face second-seeded Michigan (23-14) in the semifinals Saturday night for a chance to advance to Sunday's final. Princeton also has a score to settle against the Wolverines, who trounced the Tigers in last year's Eastern semifinals, 8-5, en route to a second-place finish.
But tiny Hartwick College — a liberal arts school in upstate New York with just one other varsity sport — will most likely prove the biggest obstacle for Princeton's title hopes. The top-seeded Hawks (27-8) are the CWPA defending champions and breezed through their Northern Division Championship games last weekend. Hartwick is ranked No. 12 in the nation.
Though the Tigers have a tough road ahead of them, big tournaments like the Eastern Championships often create opportunities for underdogs to prevail. Nicolao notes that discipline and levelheadedness are the most valuable attributes for a team in the midst of a stressful and mentally demanding tournament.
"I think the key is just keeping our emotions in check and not getting overly emotional or overly anxious," Nicolao said.
With a schedule that includes what could be some of the most exciting and significant home games in the program's recent history, this weekend is the perfect opportunity for both the casual fan and the longtime devotee to come out to DeNunzio and watch water polo.
The Princeton-Maryland game kicks off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
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