Princeton University Athletics
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No. 13 Men's Water Polo Hits the Road for North-South Invite
September 13, 2012 | Men's Water Polo
The No. 13 Princeton men's water polo team will take its first road trip of the 2012 season this weekend, heading to the Harvard-hosted North-South Invite from Sept. 15-16. The Tigers (3-2) will open the weekend with Iona (1-3) on Saturday at 12 noon. Princeton will then face either George Washington (4-4) or Brown (10-2) in the evening and wrap up the tournament the following day with an opponent to be determined.
Click here for full North-South Invite Schedule
Last Time Out: The Tigers opened up 2012 by hosting the Princeton Invitational from Sept. 7-9. Princeton defeated Cal Lutheran (14-10), Harvard (13-7) and MIT (14-8) to open the year. The Tigers were tested by then-No. 3 California and then-No. 2 UCLA, suffering both their losses thus far to the top-three teams in the nation.
On Deck: Princeton remains on the road for its next six games, beginning with a weekend in the greater Washington, D.C. area. On Saturday, Sept. 22 the Tigers face George Washington at 2 p.m. in D.C. and Navy at 7:30 p.m. in Annapolis, Md. Princeton then faces Johns Hopkins the following afternoon at 2 p.m. in Baltimore, Md.
About the North-South Invite: The North-South Invite will feature four teams from both the CWPA Southern and Northern Divisions. In true tournament fashion, a champion will be crowned on Sunday depending on the results of day one.
Hoffenberg Named Player of the Week: Sophomore Drew Hoffenberg earned Southern Division Co-Player of the Week honors following his 16-goal opening weekend performance at the Princeton Invitational. Hoffenberg opened up the 2012 season with a six-goal performance, eclipsing a career-high, versus Cal Lutheran on Sept. 7. He then matched his career-best mark with six goals versus MIT the following day. Hoffenberg wrapped up the weekend tournament with 13 steals, six ejections drawn and three assists, as well.
No. 13 in the Nation: The Tigers remain ranked No. 13 in Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Varsity Top 20 Poll, earning 39 votes in this week's poll. Princeton also remains No. 1 in the CWPA Top 10 conference poll.
The Captains: Seniors Jack Ruth and Billy Tifft will serve as co-captains in 2012 for the men's water polo program.
Fresh Faces: All three Tiger freshmen made their collegiate debut this past weekend. In goal, Alex Gow saw minutes in all five games, making a pair of starts. He earned his first career victory over Harvard, 13-7, on Sept. 8. Over 88:50 minutes, he tallied 21 saves, nine steals and an assist. In the field, both Jamie Kuprenas and Bradley Wachtell also made significant contributions. Wachtell played in all five games, starting one, while adding three assists, two steals and a goal. Kuprenas played in three games, tallying two assists, a goal and a steal.
Scouting Iona: Iona enters this weekend with a 1-3 record, having dropped its last three contests. The Gaels opened the year with a 21-7 win over Gannon on Sept. 1, before falling to Bucknell, George Washington and Navy. Jake Lloyd leads the offense with 15 goals, while goalie Stefen Hill has 35 saves over four games.