Tigers' season ends with 2nd-place finish at CWPA championship

The No. 18 men's water polo team reached the finals of the CWPA Championship after wild wins over No. 17 Harvard and No. 16 Navy, but the Tigers' (22-6 overall, 7-1 CWPA Southern) luck ran out in the championship match against No. 13 St. Francis.

The Tigers opened play with a game against Iona, which they had previously beaten 11-6 and 13-9. Princeton took the lead in the first period 4-2 and held it for the rest of the game, outscoring Iona in each of the first three periods. Iona outscored the Tigers 5-3 in the fourth period, but by that time it was too late and the Tigers were comfortably ahead thanks to sophomore center Tommy Nelson's six goals and junior center Kayj Shannon's three. Sophomore goalie Alex Gow made 12 saves in goal to earn the win.

Princeton then faced Ivy rival Harvard in the quarterfinals. The Tigers had previously defeated the Crimson (18-14, 11-1) 14-7 in the Princeton Invitational, the season-opening tournament. In that game, Princeton had taken the lead early on and worked to preserve it for the rest of the game. This time was different. The two teams were tied 2-2 at the end of the first period, but Harvard pulled ahead 4-3 by the half. After keeping pace in the third, Princeton showed its resolve and staged a comeback in the final frame, scoring three goals and shutting down Harvard's attack, to make the final score 9-7. Nelson and junior Drew Hoffenberg had three goals each, and Gow had 14 saves. Nelson also had four steals as the defense tightened up to secure the win.

In the semifinals the Tigers took on Navy (19-15, 2-6) for the fourth time this season. Princeton had won the first two games, but it was out for revenge after the Midshipmen defeated the Tigers 12-10 in the semifinals of the Southern Championships.

At first it looked like Navy had the upper hand, as Princeton went down 0-2 in the first period, but the Tigers outscored the Midshipmen 4-2 in the second to tie the game up. It was still tied after the third, but in the fourth Princeton managed to outdo Navy with three goals to two, making the final score 9-8. Nelson scored with 4:30 remaining and just under two minutes left to put the Tigers ahead for good. Nelson had four goals in the win and Hoffenberg had three, while Gow had 10 saves in goal.

Princeton came out on top in two very close games, but were defeated in the finals by the defending champion St. Francis. The teams looked evenly-matched at first, but St. Francis scored five goals in the second quarter to take the lead and held onto it for the rest of the match. Princeton was within one by the end of the third, but St. Francis outscored the Tigers 3-2 in the fourth period to make the final score 11-9. Freshman utility Jovan Jeremic led the Tigers in scoring with three goals, while Nelson and fellow sophomore utility Jamie Kuprenas each scored two. Gow had 10 saves in goal.

The Tigers' season ended short of where they wanted it to be, as they will miss the NCAA tournament. The last time Princeton made the tournament was 2011.