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Princeton & Navy Battle to Finish for Southern Division, East Region title
PRINCETON, N.J. -- When No. 15 Princeton University squares off with No. 19 Bucknell University, George Washington University and No. 16 the United States Naval Academy this weekend more than just bragging rights will be on the line as Princeton and Navy both have a chance at capturing the Southern Division, East Region regular season title and a possible No. 1 seed for the upcoming Southern Division Championship.
Princeton, which has played only five region games so far this year notching a 4-1 mark, has a chance to capture the regular season title with a sweep of the weekend needing victories against Bucknell, George Washington and Navy or a win over Navy and a loss to either Bucknell or George Washington, but not both, to have a chance at earning the No. 1 seed for the Southern Division Championship on November 7-8 at home in DeNunzio Pool.
A loss to Bucknell, George Washington and Navy eliminates the Tigers from the regular season title hunt and opens the door for Navy to capture the crown as the Midshipmen would hold a better record in region play. Further, a loss to Bucknell or George Washington, with a victory over the other, combined with a victory over Navy would bring about a tiebreaker scenario in which goal differential in the games between Navy and Princeton would decide the regular season champion.
What if the goal differential is the same? Then the tiebreaker falls to head-to-head competition against Bucknell University, which enters the weeked with a a chance to catch Princeton for second place in the region. However, Navy wins the tiebreaker as the Midshipmen downed the Bison 7-6 and 11-6 earlier this year, while Princeton's sole region loss to date is an 11-6 setback at Bucknell last week.
For Bucknell, the weekend is about catching the Tigers' tails and moving into second place in the region. The Bison, who enter the weekend with a 4-3 region mark, could surpass Princeton if the Tigers drop two games. If Princeton losses to either George Washington or Navy and falls to Bucknell, the Bison clinch second place thanks to a season sweep of the Tigers. If Princeton losses to George Washington and Navy, but defeats Bucknell then the Tigers remain in second place due to holding a better region record (5-3 to 4-4).
Although the region finish does not factor directly in the seeding for the Southern Championship, which is seeded based on votes from all the participating Southern Division coaches, it does have some value as a regular season championship carries significant weight in the voting.
In addition to the regular season title hunt, the weekend will feature a series of games which will have an impact on the national and Collegiate Water Polo Association polls as No. 18 and Northern Division No. 1 seed Brown University will meet Bucknell, George Washington and Navy, and Princeton will cross swords with Iona College in non-league games that could foreshadow potential Eastern Championship matchups on November 21-23 at Navy.
The complete weekend schedule is available on the CWPA Southern Divsion Eastern Region schedule page.
For fans interested in the Princeton games, but unable to attend, GoPrincetonTigers.com will be streaming the Tigers' games against Bucknell, Iona and Navy live over the weekend.
