Men's water polo wins three of five in SoCal against ranked opponents

The scoreboard read 1-1 at the end of one quarter. Nothing separated undefeated No. 1 UCLA from the underdog Tigers. This past weekend, a No. 10 Princeton water polo squad (14-3 overall, 6-1 CWPA Southern) traveled to Southern California looking to solidify its position as one of the sport’s top competitors.

Despite the early draw, the Bruins (18-2, 2-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) took control soon into the second quarter. By halftime, the home side had built up a 5-1 lead. When the full-time buzzer sounded, the score line was 16-3 in favor of the nation’s top team.

Senior captain and attack Drew Hoffenberg, sophomore attack Curtis Fink and freshman utility Connor McGoldrick tallied Princeton’s three goals. Freshman attack Jordan Colina went 1-2 on the day in sprints, marking his first loss of the season.

Facing the Bruins’ barrage, freshman goalkeeper Vojislav Mitrovic suffered the first loss of his Princeton career. He managed 12 saves during the course of play.

A similarly strong start could not sustain Princeton against its next opponent, No. 7 Pacific University. At the first quarter’s conclusion, the Boxers (12-6, 0-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) held a slim 2-1. Princeton did not allow its Oregon opponents to extend that margin during the subsequent quarter. 5-4 was the score at halftime. Pacific pulled away in the third period, tallying seven more scores to Princeton’s three for a final score of 12-7.

Hoffenberg led his side with three scores while Fink picked up a team-high three steals.

Impressively, the upstart East Coast squad from lowly New Jersey played even stretches of polo against opponents presumed to be far superior. Still confident, the Tigers moved on to face and defeat three consecutive ranked opponents.

Lined up against No. 16 Loyola Marymount (4-12, 1-1 West Water Polo Association), Mitrovic recorded a personal-best 16, including eight in the first quarter saves to break the two-game losing streak. Junior center Tommy Nelson racked up a hat trick in the 9-7 win over the Lions.

No. 11 University of California, Davis (8-12, 0-1 WWPA) came next on the schedule. Princeton had not faced the Aggies since 2011, in which contest the Orange and Black fell 7-11. The previous three matchups had all gone in the Tigers' favor, and this trend was restored this past Sunday.

Led by another Nelson hat trick, the Tigers held the lead or a share thereof at the end of every period. 9-8 was the final score against this ranked opponent.

A confident Tiger side squared off in a rematch of an earlier season contest against No. 9 University of California, Irvine (13-15, 1-7 MPSF). The early season matchup, held at DeNunzio Pool, resulted in a 14-12 overtime win in favor of Princeton.

This past Sunday’s matchup was a similarly close affair. UC Irvine held a slim 5-4 lead at the intermission but was unable to hold off a late rally by the Tigers. The 11-10 final solidified Princeton’s position as one of the country’s top 10 sides, as well as the only contender from the East Coast.