No. 7 women’s water polo (23–2 overall, 5–0 CWPA) picked up four major wins this weekend, against the Wagner Seahawks (25–5, 8–0 MAAC), Bucknell Bison (5–21, 0–7 CWPA), Saint Francis Red Flash (11–18–1, 2–5 CWPA), and Michigan Wolverines (18–9, 6–1 CWPA).
A year ago, the women’s water polo team got knocked out by the Harvard Crimson in the semifinals of the Collegiate Water Polo Association tournament, finishing the season with only 21 wins. Fast forward to April 2, 2023, and the team is in the midst of one of their best seasons yet, with 23 wins and a top national ranking.
The dominant season has been in large part due to star sophomore center Jovana Sekulic, first-year goalie Lindsey Lucas, and a balanced supporting cast.
After a successful spring break in California that saw the team pick up five wins over ranked opponents, the team returned to action Thursday evening against Wagner. The squad was hoping to avenge one of its two losses of the year — earlier in the season, the Tigers had dropped a match to Wagner 12–8 during the Princeton Invitational.
After Wagner scored the first goal of the match, it was all Princeton for the rest of the first period. Junior utility Kaila Carroll scored her 24th goal of the season to tie it up at one. After Carroll’s goal, it was the Kayla Yelensky show.
Yekensky, a sophomore utility, scored three straight goals to cap off a first period hat trick and give the Tigers a three-goal advantage. Two more goals by Sekulic in the second period gave the Tigers a comfortable 8–3 lead at the halftime break.
Princeton cruised to victory in the second half. Yelensky and Sekulic each added one more while sophomore utility Kate Mallery wrote her name on the scoresheet to give the Tigers an 11–6 lead at the end of the third.
First-year attacker Ava Houlahan scored in the fourth en route to a comfortable 15–12 victory for the Tigers. Lucas was instrumental in the win, with 17 saves on the night to help the Tigers reach 20 wins on the year.
After the game, the team also celebrated their five seniors: attacker Mindy Pang, attacker Annie Robinson, utility Genevieve Fraipont, utility Laura Larkin, and goalie Alexa Kourepenos. The team’s Class of 2023 has won over 70 games throughout their time at Princeton.
The Tigers celebrated five seniors on Thursday night.
Courtesy of @GoPrincetonTigers.com.
After avenging their previous loss against Wagner, the squad went up north to continue CWPA conference play. The doubleheader on Saturday featured games against the Bucknell Bison and the Saint Francis Red Flash.
The first game of the day was a defensive masterclass by the Tigers. Once again, Princeton started off hot, gaining an 8–1 lead early in the second period before taking a 12–4 lead going into halftime.
Head coach Derek Ellingson’s Princeton squad came out at halftime even stronger. The team held the Bison scoreless for the entire second half, securing a dominant 20–4 victory.
Sekulic and first-year utility Shanna Davidson each scored a hat trick, while nine other Tigers saw their name on the scoreboard. Lucas was once again dominant with 15 saves.
The second game of the day came against Saint Francis. The defensive dominance rolled over from the prior game as the Tigers held the Red Flash to zero goals in the first period. The Tigers held a 4–0 lead before the second period.
Princeton held a 10–2 lead at the half and cruised to a comfortable victory in the second half. 10 players found the back of the net, with Sekulic leading the charge with four goals. First-year center defender Sophie Johnson also contributed two goals during the win.
The marquee matchup of the weekend came against No. 13 Michigan on Sunday morning. The last time the Tigers were able to take a victory against the Wolverines was April 8, 2018. Nobody on this year’s squad had ever beat Michigan and Ellingson had only beaten them once with the Tigers as an assistant coach.
The Tigers, however, knew that they could get the better of the Wolverines this year and end the 1,820-day drought against their conference rivals.
Sekulic started the scoring for the Tigers, but the Wolverines responded with two quick goals to take the lead. The Wolverines lead did not last long, though, as Larkin responded with a beautiful shot on the counter to even the score.
Mallery assisted Sekulic who scored to give the Tigers the lead out of center, and the Tigers led the rest of the way. Goals from Carroll and Yelensky also gave the Tigers a 5–2 lead at the end of the first.
Defense was the name of the second period. Crucial field blocks by the Tigers and big saves from Lucas held the Wolverines to three goals at the break.
Princeton outscored Michigan in the third period to take a comfortable 9–5 lead heading into the final period. The Houlahan siblings (Ava and sophomore defender Grace) each got a goal in the third to help the Tigers.
Sekulic scored her fourth goal of the morning on a six-on-five to make it 11–7 with 2:39 remaining, putting the game out of reach for Michigan and giving the Tigers their 23rd win of the season. Lucas once again tallied 15 saves and helped Princeton keep the Wolverine offense at bay.
The No. 7 Tigers will continue conference play when they hit the road again for a Saturday doubleheader against No. 14 Harvard (19–5, 3–2) and No. 21 Brown (20–7, 2–3).
Hayk Yengibaryan is an assistant editor for the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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