Tigers sweep at Bucknell

Any doubts of Princeton women’s water polo team’s dominant season evaporated this weekend. To kick off Collegiate Water Polo Association conference play for the 2015 season, the Tigers swept all four opponents at the Bucknell meet. On Saturday, Princeton defeated host Bucknell and conference rival Hartwick by comfortable 9-6 and 9-4 margins, respectively. Then, on Sunday, the team beat Gannon and Mercyhurst by even larger margins: 11-3 and 16-7, respectively.

In addition to its recent Ivy League championship over Brown and nine consecutive wins, extending nearly an entire month, Princeton women’s water polo team has now risen to No. 1 in the CWPA conference — edging out rival Indiana University — and No. 11 in the NCAA, one of the highest rankings ever for any CWPA team.

Although the water polo season officially began on Feb. 7, the team hadn’t faced any conference foes prior to this weekend’s meet. Accordingly, this weekend’s four games prompted extra urgency as the Tigers begin their journey towards a CWPA championship victory in late April. Following a close 11-10 loss to Indiana in the championship match last year, every conference match counts for the Tigers.

Known for ferocious first quarters, the Tigers actually got off to a slow 2-1 start against the host Bucknell on Saturday. Fortunately, Princeton quickly made up for the sluggish start and scored six consecutive goals in the following two quarters. The prompt recovery gave the Tigers a comfortable lead to win the game. Saturday’s match against Bucknell showcased continued rookie play, as freshman utility Haley Wan scored a goal and marked two assists while freshman goalie Helena Van Brande recorded six saves.

Saturday’s second match against Hartwick presented perhaps the greatest challenge of the weekend. Boasting a No. 4 ranking in the CWPA, the Hawks entered the meet with a winning record over the Tigers. Moreover, the Tigers fostered rivalry with a close win against the Hawks in last year’s CWPA semifinals. In coincidental fashion, the day’s second match followed a similar course as the first: following a slow first quarter start, the Tigers scored a 5-1 run toward victory. Junior goalie Ashleigh Johnson finished the game with 14 saves and senior utility Ashely Hatcher recorded three goals.

“We were just not making our shots, and we weren’t utilizing every opportunity,” saidsophomore center Morgan Hallock, who finished the weekend with an amazing four goals and 11 ejections drawn, to explainthe unusually slow starts on Saturday.

Going into Sunday’s matches, Princeton carried a combined undefeated record over both Gannon and Mercyhurst. Accordingly, the Tigers translated this early confidence to dominating wins. Recovering from the previous day, Princeton started both games with early leads and then sustained scoring edges, concluding in clear victories for the Tigers.

Impressive play on Sunday featured Wan’s 3-0 sprint record against Gannon. Furthermore, senior utility Hatcher netted a team-high five goals against Mercyhurst, while Van Brande marked nine saves in the same game.

“I think that during the week we train very hard. In these situations we know what to do. The hard thing is adjusting to the different types of play,”Hallock explained.

This weekend, the Tigers will travel to Harvard to face Marist, VMI and Iona, returning to non-conference play. In fact, Princeton will not face another CWPA opponent until the end of the month.