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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
Men's Water Polo Eyes Southern and Eastern Titles in 2006
August 24, 2006 | Men's Water Polo
The Princeton men's water polo team kicks off the 2006 season by hosting the Princeton Invitational on Sept. 9 and 10 at DeNunzio Pool. The Tigers kick off the action early in the morning, with a 9 a.m. game against Queens. The game will start the 11th season of varsity water polo at Princeton.
In 2006 Princeton will look to reclaim the Southern and Eastern championships after falling short a season ago. Princeton dropped the Southern championship game to Navy by a goal and fell by two to St. Francis during Easterns. The Tigers hope to build on the experience gained last season and turn those tough results into wins in the coming year.
Princeton enters 2006 having lost its leading scorer in each of the past three seasons and its all-time leading scorer in the program, John Stover, who graduated last spring. Princeton will look to a trio of proven returning scorers to pick up the slack this season. Senior Nicholas Seaver ranked second on the squad with 41 goals last season, while junior Zach Beckmann has reached the 30-goal mark in each of his two seasons. Senior Chris Kelsch has eclipsed the 25-goal mark the last two season, and sophomore Brendan Colgan and Eric Vreeland will look to improve upon impressive freshman seasons.
Princeton returns one goalkeeper from last season, junior Scott Syverson. He played roughly half the minutes during the 2005 season and made 104 saves in 25 games, while earning a 10-4 record. Two freshmen goalkeepers will join him this season. In all, Princeton will welcome five new players into the mix in 2006.
After the season-opening Princeton Invitational, Princeton will have to wait a month until it plays at home again. The Tigers head to California for the Nor Cal Tournament at Stanford, then will compete at the ECAC Championships at Brown. After two league games at Bucknell, Princeton returns to DeNunzio Pool on Oct. 7 for a league game with Navy and exhibition contest against NYAC. Princeton continues its league schedule through mid-October before the Southern Championships take place the final weekend of October at Bucknell. Princeton will host the Eastern Championship in mid-November.
(Below is the transcript of a Q&A with Head Coach Luis Nicolao that appears in the 2006-07 men's and women's water polo media guide… the guide will be available online shortly)
The 2005 team graduated eight players, including John Stover, the program's leading scorer, that played significant roles in the last four years of Princeton water polo. What did that group do to elevate the status of Princeton water polo? They played well as a group and emphasized the team game. That team concept put us over the top and allowed us to play at such a high level over their four years at Princeton.
How will the underclassmen and incoming freshman adapt into the roles vacated by the graduating seniors? Every team has to deal with losses, I am sure that we will find players to fill the void left from our graduating class. I am excited to see how some of our players respond to increased playing time and new roles.
Princeton was eliminated from Southern and Eastern contention last season in tight losses to Navy and St. Francis. What does the team need to do to turn those close results in their favor next season? Execute at a higher level, in both games we did not play as well as we could of and it cost us. There a lot of good teams this year and we have to make sure that play our game and not commit mental errors.
Three seniors, Reid Joseph, Chris Kelsch and Nicholas Seaver, will serve as the team's captains for next season. What do you expect from the group in terms of leadership and setting the tone for the season? I always look for positive leadership from our captains, every successful team has good leadership. We have been blessed to have some great captains and this year will be no different.
What is the game plan for the season? What areas do you need to focus on to be successful? Our game plan is to utilize our strengths and improve our conditioning. We plan to be one of the best condition teams in the country; this will help us be successful.
In 2006 Princeton will look to reclaim the Southern and Eastern championships after falling short a season ago. Princeton dropped the Southern championship game to Navy by a goal and fell by two to St. Francis during Easterns. The Tigers hope to build on the experience gained last season and turn those tough results into wins in the coming year.
Princeton enters 2006 having lost its leading scorer in each of the past three seasons and its all-time leading scorer in the program, John Stover, who graduated last spring. Princeton will look to a trio of proven returning scorers to pick up the slack this season. Senior Nicholas Seaver ranked second on the squad with 41 goals last season, while junior Zach Beckmann has reached the 30-goal mark in each of his two seasons. Senior Chris Kelsch has eclipsed the 25-goal mark the last two season, and sophomore Brendan Colgan and Eric Vreeland will look to improve upon impressive freshman seasons.
Princeton returns one goalkeeper from last season, junior Scott Syverson. He played roughly half the minutes during the 2005 season and made 104 saves in 25 games, while earning a 10-4 record. Two freshmen goalkeepers will join him this season. In all, Princeton will welcome five new players into the mix in 2006.
After the season-opening Princeton Invitational, Princeton will have to wait a month until it plays at home again. The Tigers head to California for the Nor Cal Tournament at Stanford, then will compete at the ECAC Championships at Brown. After two league games at Bucknell, Princeton returns to DeNunzio Pool on Oct. 7 for a league game with Navy and exhibition contest against NYAC. Princeton continues its league schedule through mid-October before the Southern Championships take place the final weekend of October at Bucknell. Princeton will host the Eastern Championship in mid-November.
(Below is the transcript of a Q&A with Head Coach Luis Nicolao that appears in the 2006-07 men's and women's water polo media guide… the guide will be available online shortly)
The 2005 team graduated eight players, including John Stover, the program's leading scorer, that played significant roles in the last four years of Princeton water polo. What did that group do to elevate the status of Princeton water polo? They played well as a group and emphasized the team game. That team concept put us over the top and allowed us to play at such a high level over their four years at Princeton.
How will the underclassmen and incoming freshman adapt into the roles vacated by the graduating seniors? Every team has to deal with losses, I am sure that we will find players to fill the void left from our graduating class. I am excited to see how some of our players respond to increased playing time and new roles.
Princeton was eliminated from Southern and Eastern contention last season in tight losses to Navy and St. Francis. What does the team need to do to turn those close results in their favor next season? Execute at a higher level, in both games we did not play as well as we could of and it cost us. There a lot of good teams this year and we have to make sure that play our game and not commit mental errors.
Three seniors, Reid Joseph, Chris Kelsch and Nicholas Seaver, will serve as the team's captains for next season. What do you expect from the group in terms of leadership and setting the tone for the season? I always look for positive leadership from our captains, every successful team has good leadership. We have been blessed to have some great captains and this year will be no different.
What is the game plan for the season? What areas do you need to focus on to be successful? Our game plan is to utilize our strengths and improve our conditioning. We plan to be one of the best condition teams in the country; this will help us be successful.
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