Players Mentioned
Men's Water Polo Ranked Eighth in CWPA Poll; Set to Face JHU, Navy, GW
September 17, 2014 | Men's Water Polo
| Gametimes | Saturday, Sept. 20 Princeton vs. Johns Hopkins - 11 a.m. Princeton vs. Navy - 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 Princeton vs. George Washington - 11 a.m. |
| @pwaterpolo l @PUTigers | |
| Rosters | Princeton l Johns Hopkins l Navy l George Washington |
| Statistics | Princeton l Johns Hopkins l Navy l George Washington |
| Last Meeting |
Princeton 10, Johns Hopkins 8 (Sept. 7, 2014) |
| Last Weekend | Princeton Defeats Cal Baptist, MIT l Princeton Outlasts UC-Irvine |
| CWPA Awards | Hoffenberg Named Southern Division Player of the Week |
| Live Coverage |
Johns Hopkins - Webstream George Washington - Webstream |
VIDEO FEATURE WITH DREW HOFFENBERG
CWPA TOP-20 POLL
Climbing the Charts
Off to a stellar start, Princeton has climbed into a tie for eighth in the CWPA top-20 poll. Ranked 13th during the preseason, the Tigers moved up two spots to 11th in last week's edition before jumping three more spots into a tie with UC-San Diego. Princeton's ranking is the highest by a men's team from the East Coast in the modern era (post 2006), breaking the previous mark of No. 9 set by St. Francis on Dec. 5, 2012. The Tigers finished ninth in the final 2004 CWPA poll – the first time Princeton ever closed out the season in the top-10. The Orange and Black also earned a No. 9 ranking early in the 2005 season and were 10th in the final poll of 2009 and 2011.
Off to the Races
This is the third time in the last four years that Princeton has opened the season with at least six consecutive victories. In 2013 and 2011 the Tigers won each of their first eight games. The 2003 and 2004 squads began the year on 11 and 10-game win streaks, respectively. The 2004 team also later pieced together 13-straight victories, which currently stands as the program's longest win streak.
The Week that Was
After going 3-0 at its annual Invitational Tournament, Princeton remained unbeaten with wins over Cal Baptist, MIT and UC-Irvine at Brown University's Bruno Fall Classic. After defeating Cal Baptist 13-7, The Tigers improved to 10-0 all-time against MIT with a 14-8 triumph. Evening its all-time record with then No. 8 UC-Irvine at 1-1, Princeton scored six of the game's 10 overtime goals to earn a narrow 14-12 decision over the Anteaters.
Rising to the Occasion
Netting just two goals in his first three appearances, senior co-captain Drew Hoffenberg put together a strong second week, amassing 12 goals, nine drawn ejections, six steals and two assists against Cal Baptist, MIT and UC-Irvine. Picking up the fifth CWPA weekly honor of his career, Hoffenberg was named the Southern Division's Player of the Week. Against Cal Baptist, the senior found the back of the net on each of his three shots, while also drawing five ejections. After scoring on six of seven shots against MIT he posted a hat trick against UC-Irvine with five steals. Hoffenberg currently leads the team in goals (14) and ejections drawn (13) while ranking third in assists (5) and steals (9).
Continuing to Impress
A week after making the CWPA Player of the Week honor roll, Jordan Colina was one of the runners-up for the league's Rookie of the Week accolade. Continuing to serve as one of the catalysts of the Princeton attack, he racked up four goals, seven steals, two assists and two drawn ejections in the Tigers' three games. On the season, the freshman leads the squad in steals (12), while sitting tied for third in goals (9).
Beating them to the Punch
Through six games, Princeton is 20-5 (0.800) on sprints this season. Last year, the Tigers went 78-31 (0.716) on sprints, while posting a 64-40 (0.615) mark in 2012 and 66-70 (0.485) record in 2011. Freshman Jordan Colina has yet to lose a sprint with an 8-0 showing thus far, while Thomas Nelson is 8-3. Curtis Fink, Bret Hinrichs and Connor McGoldrick are a combined 4-2.
Holding Down the Fort
Vojislav Mitrovic and Alex Gow have done a solid job in net for Princeton this season, combining for a 6-0 record and 0.633 save percentage. In three appearances, Gow has surrendered 22 goals on 56 shots (0.607) while Mitrovic has stopped 54 of the 83 shots he has faced (0.651). Against No. 8 UC-Irvine, Gow made five first half saves before giving way to Mitrovic. Stopping six shots in the third quarter alone, Mitrovic added six more saves in the final frame and overtime to finish with 12.
Déjà vu
Saturday's showdown against Johns Hopkins will be the second between the two squads this season with the Tigers having already notched a 10-8 decision over the Blue Jays at the Princeton Invitational. Eric Bowen and Kayj Shannon paced the Tiger attack with three goals apiece. Jordan Colina, Thomas Nelson, Jovan Jeremic and Connor McGoldrick also got on the board, while Drew Hoffenberg chipped in with three assists. Vojislav Mitrovic was stellar in net, notching 16 saves, while Colina and Nelson combined to go 4-0 on sprints.
Scouting Johns Hopkins
After going 1-2 at the Princeton Invitational, Johns Hopkins took two of its three match-ups last weekend, downing Mercyhurst (13-6) and Penn State Behrend (16-0) while falling to Bucknell (9-7). Johnny Beal led the Blue Jays against Mercyhurst with three goals and four steals while Camden Schreeder had three goals and two assists. Twelve different players scored in the rout over Penn-State Behrend as the Blue Jays posted the fourth shutout in program history (first since 2003). Langdon Froomer (22P, 12G, 10A), Jono Gillette (17P, 13G, 4A) and Johnny Beal (16P, 11G, 5 A) currently lead the team in points, while Erik Henrikson has seen the majority of the time in net, stopping 56 of the 97 shots he has faced. Johns Hopkins is 4-37 all-time against Princeton.
Scouting Navy
After racing out to an 8-0 start, Navy dropped each of its final two games at the Bruno Fall Classic. The Midshipmen opened tournament play with a 20-10 victory over MIT before outlasting host Brown in quadruple overtime, 10-9. Navy closed out a busy first day at the Classic with an 11-10 decision over Cal Baptist before dropping games to Santa Clara (12-7) and Harvard (13-9) on Sunday. Navy will look to improve on a 35-25 all-time mark against Princeton, with the Midshipmen sporting a 15-7 home record against the Orange and Black. Through 10 games, Thomas Patterson leads the team in points (23G, 6 A), while Carpenter Warren has recorded 14 goals and nine assists. Six other players have posted double-digit points for a balanced Navy attack, while Garrett Sabesky and Tyler Barker have seen the majority of time in net, sporting a 0.478 and 0.583 save percentage, respectively.
Scouting George Washington
Princeton will close out a tough weekend stretch against George Washington, with the Tigers holding a 35-1 advantage in the all-time series. Helping the Colonials to wins over Fordham (8-7), Salem International (20-5), Penn State-Behrend (16-2) and Mercyhurst (15-6) at the Bison Invitational, Bogdan Petkovic was named the Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week, while Pierce Deamer picked up Rookie of the Week accolades. Petkovic recorded 13 steals and three field blocks to help GW surrender just 20 goals in four games. Offensively, he also chipped in with four goals and eight assists. Tallying 13 points on nine goals and four assists, Deamer drew six ejections and nabbed four steals in the Colonials' four contests. The duo currently rank second (27) and third (20) on the team in points behind Brian Mojica, who has amassed 21 goals and 10 assists.