Princeton University Athletics
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Women's Water Polo Team Faces CWPA's Best at Elite Eight Tournament
March 05, 2010 | Women's Water Polo
Elite Eight Invitational
March 6-7 • Bloomington, Indiana
• Tournament Central (Schedules and Scores)
PRINCETON (3/5/10) -- The 20th-ranked Princeton women's water polo team makes its first road trip of the season this weekend as it travels to Indiana to compete against the CWPA's best in the Elite Eight Invitational. Princeton will open the schedule Saturday morning against 11th-ranked Hartwick.
Princeton enters the weekend 5-2 overall with all seven games coming at home. Princeton was 3-1 in its opening weekend at the Princeton Invitational and 2-1 to place second last weekend in the ECAC Championships. Princeton started last weekend with two wins on Saturday, topping Iona in the quarterfinals and defending Southern Champion Maryland 10-5 in the semifinals, before falling in the championship game to Brown on Sunday, 10-9 thanks to a last second Brown goal.
Princeton and Brown have now split two meetings this season and Princeton's week one win over the Bears is its only victory over a nationally ranked opponent. Princeton also has wins over Gannon, Colorado State, Iona and Maryland. Its only other loss came to fifth-ranked Michigan.
Goalkeeper Kristen Ward made 34 saves in the three games last week and was named the CWPA Southern Defensive Player of the Week for her performance. She also contributed four assists and two steals and 4-1 in goal this season with a .561 save percentage.
Offensively, Phoebe Champion led the Tigers with eight goals last weekend and added three assists and three steals. Her 19 goals tops the team and her seven assists ranks second. Lauren Brunner scored five times last weekend and ranks second on the team with 15 goals. Helen Meigs ranks third with 12 goals and has a team-high 17 assists, with Brittany Zwirner ranking fourth with 10 goals.
This weekend the Tigers are one of five teams ranked in the Top 20 in the eight-team field. This weekend's tournament is the third Elite Tournament, which in the past two seasons featured the top-two finishers from each of the CWPA's three division playing round robin games. This season's event features eight teams and will be played out like a tournament with a championship game on Sunday, although the consolation bracket will be adjusted to prevent teams from the same division to play one another.
Princeton's first game of the tournament is against 11th-ranked Hartwick, the defending Northern Champion. Princeton's game is paired with the Maryland vs. Harvard matchup, while the other side of the bracket has Michigan playing Bucknell and Indiana hosting Brown.
Princeton vs. the Field
#17 Brown
2010 Record: 8-1
Series Record: Princeton leads 14-5
Last Game: 2/28/10, Brown 10, Princeton 9 (ECAC Championship)
Bucknell
2010 Record: 5-2
Series Record: Princeton leads 29-5
Last Game: 4/25/09, Princeton 9, Bucknell 6 (Eastern Consolation Bracket)
#11 Hartwick
2010 Record: 12-3
Series Record: Hartwick leads 9-4
Last Game: 2/28/09, Hartwick 8, Princeton 6 (Elite Six)
Harvard
2010 Record: 7-3
Series Record: Princeton leads 20-2
Last Game: 3/1/09, Princeton 13, Harvard 6 (Elite Six)
#18 Indiana
2010 Record: 7-3
Series Record: Princeton leads 10-6
Last Game: 4/26/09, Indiana 11, Princeton 6 (Eastern Consolation Bracket)
Maryland
2010 Record: 7-3
Series Record: Princeton leads 20-14
Last Game: 2/27/10, Princeton 10, Maryland 5 (ECAC Semifinal)
#8 Michigan
2010 Record: 12-6
Series Record: Michigan leads 14-5
Last Game: 2/20/10, Michigan 13, Princeton 10 (Princeton Invitational)