Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Nelson and Hoffenberg Named to NCAA All-Tournament Team
December 07, 2011 | Men's Water Polo
Princeton defeated UC San Diego 9-7 in the tournament's third-place game to finish third in the four-team field and earn the school's second third-place finish in as many trips to the Championship.
Nelson put together a stellar two games for the Tigers, scoring six goals and adding a steal and a drawn ejection to be named to the tournament's first team. He is the first Princetonian to earn first team honors at the NCAA tournament.
Nelson had three of Princeton's four goals in the semifinal loss to eventual national champion USC and then added another three in the win over UCSD. In the win, all three of Nelson's goals proved important. His first drew Princeton even at 5-5 late in the third quarter and his second gave Princeton the lead for good with 1:34 left in the game. His final goal of the game came with 28 seconds remaining in the game and one left on the shot clock and sealed the win for the Tigers.
Hoffenberg scored four goals in Princeton's win over UC San Diego and added two assists, three steals and three drawn ejections in the tournament. The Eastern Most Valuable Player scored Princeton's first two goals against UCSD after falling behind 2-0. He also scored to tie the game at 4-4 just before halftime and gave Princeton a 7-5 lead in the fourth quarter when he scored on a penalty shot.
Hoffenberg joins six Princetonians that have earned second-team all-tournament honors in their careers.