The No. 20 women’s water polo team kicked off its spring season with an outstanding showing at the Princeton Invitational. Princeton (3-1) picked up three big wins over Gannon, Colorado State and No. 18 Brown.
The Tigers dominated Gannon (0-7) on Friday night to start their season off with a decisive 21-5 victory. Senior driver and tri-captain Phoebe Champion notched the Tigers’ first three goals of the season by skipping the ball over the defenseless Golden Knights goalie. Champion added three more goals, totaling six on the game, and junior utility Lauren Brunner added four goals.
On Saturday morning, the Tigers faced a tough foe in No. 5 Michigan. The Wolverines (9-3) had already played in two preseason tournaments and tallied wins over No. 6 Hawaii and No. 10 San Jose State. Princeton woke up Saturday morning ready to play. The Tigers jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Champion’s powerful set move. Michigan resisted Princeton’s early pursuit by leveling the score at two to end the first quarter. A messy second quarter proved to hurt the Tigers in the end, as they accumulated eight turnovers, fell to 0-7 on man-advantages and went into halftime trailing 6-3. Princeton fought back, scoring the first goal of the second half on a Brunner spin move inside, but the Wolverines proved too strong in the end, beating the Tigers 13-10.
Two months ago, sophomore goalie Grace du Pont was a field player. Because of injuries and the flu, however, the Tigers’ only goalkeeper, sophomore Kristen Ward, was incapable of defending the cage for Princeton. Du Pont sacrificed her role as a field player for the greater good of the team by becoming the Tigers’ second goalie. She recorded 20 saves in Princeton’s first two games of the season.
“In short, Grace is a huge baller,” senior driver and tri-captain Helen Meigs said. “All of us were proud to have her in the cage during the first games of the weekend.” Du Pont’s team-first attitude has inspired her team and has created a positive atmosphere for the Tigers.
Princeton rebounded from the Michigan loss by beating Colorado State (4-9) 12-8. The Tigers sprinted out to a 2-0 lead with goals by junior driver Cari Levine and Meigs, and they never looked back. Returning from injury, Ward recorded 11 saves to bring the Tigers’ record to 2-1.
Meigs recorded three goals and four assists, and freshman driver Saranna Soroka lit up the Rams’ goalie for three of her five goals on the weekend. The Tigers made significant improvements on their six-on-five play against the Rams by making crisp passes and shooting off the pass rather than allowing the goalie to get set by faking prior to shooting.
The Tigers capped off the weekend by beating Ivy League rival Brown 13-11. Once again, Princeton took an early lead and never let up. Despite recording five fourth-quarter goals, the Bears could not match the Tigers’ intensity. Ward recorded 10 more saves as Champion and Meigs added three goals apiece. Meigs finished the weekend with seven goals and an astounding 13 assists.
“She has always been a great passer and the leading assist person,” head coach Luis Nicolao said of Meigs. “This year we are all excited about the offensive potential of her game. This was a great way to start for her.”
Freshman driver Brittany Zwirner rifled seven goals in her first weekend of collegiate play, as Brunner added 10 and Champion finished with 11.
When asked how he felt his team performed this weekend, Nicolao responded, “Yes, I was very happy. We still have a way to go and can get much better. But I think this weekend the girls proved to themselves that we can be pretty good and have a great season if we keep working hard.”
The Tigers will host the ECAC tournament next weekend. The top eight teams from the East Coast will come to DeNunzio Pool as the Tigers look to continue building off of a strong start.
The Tigers will face Iona in the opening round on Saturday morning. A year ago, Princeton fell to Iona (1-6) in a tough loss.
“Our goal for next weekend is to show everyone that this year will be a different story,” Meigs said. “We want to set the mood for the rest of the season by coming out strong and handling our business.”
Nicolao said he was happy with the Tigers’ effort, but he noted that they could improve by doing “a better job of controlling the tempo of the game.”
“At times we played a little sloppy and let our emotions get the best of us,” Nicolao said.
The Tigers have a long season ahead of them, but this talented team should be a competitive force to be reckoned with at the end of the year.
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