Princeton University Athletics
Men?s Water Polo Eyes Return to NCAAs, 2013 Schedule Released
July 03, 2013 | Men's Water Polo
2013 Schedule
Princeton men's water polo head coach Luis Nicolao has released the 2013 schedule, it was announced Wednesday. The Tigers are vying for their fifth trip to the NCAA Championship and second in three years.
The season opens with the program's annual Princeton Invitational from Sept. 13-15. The tournament schedule has yet to be finalized, but the Tigers will play four matches over the weekend and currently participating are Fordham, Harvard and Santa Clara.
Conference competition kicks off with Princeton's first road weekend from Sept. 21-22 in Maryland and Washington, D.C. with a trio of contests against Johns Hopkins, Navy and George Washington.
The road swing extends with a six-game weekend in Southern California from Sept. 27-29, featuring the five-time reigning NCAA champion Trojans of USC.
After returning to the comforts of DeNunzio Pool, Princeton will host Bucknell (Oct. 6), Johns Hopkins (Oct. 12) and Navy (Oct. 12), before traveling to Lewisburg, Pa. to square off with the Bison a second time around on Oct. 13.
The regular season concludes with the Ivy League Championship hosted at Penn on Sunday, Oct. 20 and a final trio of home games. A doubleheader versus Fordham and Iona on Saturday, Oct. 26 will serve as Senior Day and the home finale.
The Southern Division Championship will run from Nov. 10-11 in Annapolis, Md., followed by the Eastern Championship from Nov. 22-24 in Providence, R.I.
The NCAA has established a play-in game beginning in 2013, with the winner of the CWPA hosting the winner of the SCIAC on Saturday, Nov. 30.
The seven-time Southern and four-time Eastern champion Tigers will look to punch a return trip to California, as Stanford hosts NCAAs from Dec. 7-8.
In 2012, Princeton went 17-12, 5-3 Southerns and earned third place finishes at both the Southern and Eastern championships.