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No. 13 Princeton Heads to Eastern Championship with NCAA Berth in Sight
PRINCETON, N.J. -- The 13th-ranked
Princeton University men's water polo team plays for an NCAA
tournament berth this weekend when it travels to Navy to compete at
the 2008 CWPA Eastern Championship. The Tigers enter the weekend
looking for their first Eastern title since 2004.
Princeton is currently 17-9 overall and last played two weekends
ago when it took three games on its way to the Southern
Championship. It was Princeton's fifth overall Southern crown and
its first since 2004. Princeton defeated George Washington and
Bucknell handily in the first two round before claiming a 12-11 win
over Navy in the title game.
Princeton has won its last four games and nine of its last 10
contests entering Easterns. Princeton has also climbed to 13th
nationally and is the second highest ranked team in the event.
Princeton is the top-Southern seed, while St. Francis, the
top-Northern seed, is ranked 12th in the nation. Navy (14) and
Brown (17) are also nationally ranked teams playing in the
tournament.
Sophomore Jeff Cole continues to lead Princeton in scoring with 37
goals, despite being held to two goals at Southerns. Junior Eric
Vreeland scored six goals at Southerns to climb within a goal of
Cole for the team lead. Senior Brendan Colgan and juniors Mark
Zalewski and Douglas Wigley are all clustered right behind the two
with 35 goals for Colgan and 33 for Zalewski and Wigley.
Princeton's top-five scorers are separated by just four goals.
Princeton's lone Eastern Championship came in the 2004 season.
Princeton was also the Top-Southern seed that year and started with
a win over MIT. The Tigers edged Harvard in the second game and
then defeated St. Francis 3-2 in quadruple overtime to claim the
Eastern title.
Princeton opens the tournament tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. against
MIT. The teams have not met this season, but played early last
season with Princeton winning 12-9 in a game played at DeNunzio
Pool. Cole and Zalewski scored three goals each in that win. The
Tigers will meet either Brown or Johns Hopkins in the second game
of the tournament on Saturday. Princeton defeated both teams twice
in the regular season, beating Brown 14-9 and 15-10 and taking
Johns Hopkins 15-14 and 7-5.
The winner of the Eastern Championship will receive the CWPA's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which will take place Dec. 6 and 7 at Stanford.
Release courtesy Princeton Athletic Communications
