Players Mentioned
Men's Water Polo Heads to Brown for Ivy Championship
October 16, 2014 | Men's Water Polo
| @pwaterpolo l @PUTigers l @PUTigers_live | |
| Princeton Links |
Roster l Schedule l Statistics |
| 2013 Ivy Championship |
Princeton 13, Brown 12 (Recap) |
| Facility | Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center |
| Last Weekend | Princeton Falls to UCLA l Tigers Split With Pacific, Loyola Marymount l Princeton Sweeps UC-Davis, UC-Irvine |
| Live Coverage | Ivy Digital Network |
TRIAL BY FIRE
Returning home after a tough West Coast swing, the No. 9 Princeton men's water polo team posted a 3-2 record in five consecutive games against ranked opponents. Falling to No. 4 UCLA (16-3) last Thursday evening, the Tigers opened play at the 2014 SoCAL Tournament with a 12-7 setback against No. 7 University of the Pacific. Closing out the first day of competition with a 9-7 triumph over No. 16 Loyola Marymount, Princeton secured a pair of decisions over No. 12 UC-Davis (9-8) and No. 10 UC-Irvine (11-10) on Sunday to lay claim to ninth place.
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE
Through the Tigers first 17 games, eight have come against competition currently ranked in the CWPA national top-20 poll. Going 6-2 in those contests, Princeton's only losses came to No. 4 UCLA (16-3) and No. 7 Pacific (12-7) last week. The Tigers have a pair of wins over No. 10 UC-Irvine, clipping the Anteaters in overtime on Sept. 14 at the Bruno Fall Classic (14-12) before posting an 11-10 decision last Sunday. Opening the year with a 10-5 victory over No. 17 St. Francis, the Princeton has also gotten the better of No. 18 Cal Baptist (13-7), No. 16 Loyola Marymount (9-7) and No. 12 UC-Davis (9-8).
WELCOME BACK
After racking up six goals through the team's first three games, senior co-captain Kayj Shannon missed the Tigers' next nine contests due to injury. Making his return during Princeton's West Coast swing, he saw action in all five games last week, recording goals against Pacific and UC-Irvine.
FILLING IN
Stepping in for goalie Vojislav Mitrovic in a thrilling 9-8 win over UC-Davis, regular field players Jovan Jeremic and Bret Hinrichs helped preserve the Tiger lead down the stretch. Playing the final 11:23, the duo combined to make three saves and surrendered just two goals while filling in for Princeton's standout rookie netminder. Prior to his departure, Mitrovic had stopped eight of the 14 shots he faced. In four games at the SoCAL Tournament, the freshman posted a 0.540 save percentage, stopping 47-of-82 shots. On the season, he has gone 10-2 in 12 appearances with a 0.586 save percentage.
COMING ON STRONG
Shut out in Princeton's two losses against UCLA and Pacific, Thomas Nelson played a crucial role in the Tigers' success against Loyola Marymount, UC-Davis and UC-Irvine. Posting a hat trick against the Lions, Nelson found the back of the net three times on six shots, while adding an assist. Registering his second straight hat trick against UC-Davis, he came up with three goals on just four shots, while also drawing four ejections. Nelson closed out tournament play with a goal and assist against UC-Irvine. In 17 appearances this season, Nelson ranks second on the team in goals (29) and third in steals (24).
LEADING THE WAY
Turning in another big week, Drew Hoffenberg continues to headline the Princeton attack with a team-high 37 goals. Recording nine goals and four assists in his last five games, Hoffenberg also nabbed 11 steals and drew seven ejections. Accounting for a score against UCLA, he had a pair of hat tricks versus Pacific and Loyola Marymount, while tallying two goals and two assists against UC-Irvine. Leading the Tigers in scoring in each of his first three collegiate seasons, Hoffenberg currently ranks fourth on the program charts in goals (213) and second in assists (116).
IVY TOURNAMENT
Princeton will join its Ivy brethren at this weekend's Ivy Championship hosted by Brown University at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatic Center. The varsity programs of Princeton, Brown and Harvard will join club teams from Penn, Columbia, Dartmouth and Yale in Providence, R.I. for the two-day affair.
While the event is organized by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the name “Ivy Championship” is used with the permission of the Council of Ivy League Presidents (“The Ivy League”). Seeding is based on the order of finish among the varsity teams at the 2013 CWPA Championship, while the four competing club teams' seeding are based on their order of finish at the 2013 Ivy Championship combined with head-to-head regular season match-ups between the squads.
All of this weekend's contests will be broadcast on the Ivy Digital Network. To sign-up for the Ivy Digital Network, CLICK HERE and select the Subscribe tab. Multiple packages are available, but fans can sign-up for one day of games ($9.95 per day) or subscribe for a monthly pass at a cost of $15.95. Fans can go to http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/ for more information on the Ivy Digital Network.
VARSITY
1st seed – Princeton University
2nd seed – Brown University
3rd seed – Harvard University
COLLEGIATE CLUB
1st seed – University of Pennsylvania
2nd seed – Dartmouth College
3rd seed – Columbia University
4th seed – Yale University
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014
Game 1 – Penn vs. Yale (10 a.m.)
Game 2 – Dartmouth vs. Columbia (11:30 a.m.)
Game 3 – Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 1 (5 p.m.)
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (6:30 p.m.)
Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014
Game 5 – Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 (8:15 a.m.)
Game 6 – Brown vs. Harvard (9:30 a.m.)
Game 7 – Princeton vs. Winner Game 4 (10:45 a.m.)
Game 8 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (12 p.m.)
Third-Place Game – Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7 (1:15 p.m.)
Championship Game – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6 (2:30 p.m.)