Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
2014 Princeton Invitational Tournament Central
September 03, 2014 | Men's Water Polo
| 2014 Princeton Invitational |
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Saturday, Sept. 6 l Sunday, Sept. 7 Participating Schools: Brown University, Bucknell University, Diablo Valley College, George Washington University, Harvard University, Iona College, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, St. Francis College |
The Princeton University men's water polo team will host its annual Invitational Tournament on Sept. 6-7 at DeNunzio Pool.
The two-day event will feature 10 schools, with play slated to begin on Saturday at 8 a.m. Princeton opens its season against St. Francis on the morning of the first day of competition before returning to the pool for a showdown against Johns Hopkins in the afternoon session. The Tigers will play two more on Sunday against Brown and MIT before Bucknell and Iona ultimately wrap up the action at 7:15 p.m.
All four of Princeton's games will be broadcast free of charge on the Ivy Digital Network. The full schedule for the 2014 Princeton Invitational can be found below. Check back throughout the weekend for updated results and box scores (as available).
Saturday, Sept. 6
8 a.m. - Brown 13, Diablo Valley 11 (Results)
9:15 a.m. - Princeton 10, St. Francis 5 (Recap)
10:30 a.m. - Johns Hopkins 20, Iona 11 (Results)
11:45 a.m. - George Washington 11, MIT 10 (Results)
1 p.m. - Harvard 11, Diablo Valley 7 (Results)
*Due to lightning play was suspended Saturday afternoon. A revised schedule for Sunday can be found below*
Sunday, Sept. 7
7:30 a.m. - Diablo Valley 15, St. Francis 11 (Results)
8:45 a.m. - Princeton 10, Johns Hopkins 8 (Recap)
10:00 a.m. - Brown 11, Bucknell 6 (Results)
11:15 a.m. - MIT 14, Diablo Valley 13 (Results)
12:30 p.m. - Harvard 13, George Washington 9 (Results)
1:45 - Brown 20, Johns Hopkins 18 (Results)
3 p.m. - MIT 16, Iona 13 (Results)
4:15 p.m. - Harvard 12, Bucknell 10 (Results)
5:30 p.m. - George Washington 19, St. Francis 11 (Results)
6:45 p.m. - Princeton 20, Iona 11 (Recap)
The Year that Was
Ultimately finishing with a 22-6 (7-1 Southern Division) record, the Princeton University men's water polo team narrowly missed out on a fourth CWPA Eastern Championship in 2013. Beginning the year on a seven-game win streak, the Tigers dropped three of their next four before emerging victorious in 10 of their next 11 outings. Falling to Navy in the semifinals of the Southern Championships, the Orange and Black rebounded with a four-game hot streak, advancing to the Eastern title game before falling to St. Francis, 11-9.
Déjà vu
A rematch of the 2013 CWPA Eastern title tilt, Princeton meets St. Francis in its opening match of the Invitational Tournament. At last year's Eastern championship, the Terriers took a 6-4 lead into the locker room before eventually claiming a hard-fought 11-9 triumph. Jovan Jeremic paved the way for the Tiger offense, posting a hat-trick for the 13th time in his young career. Thomas Nelson and Jamie Kuprenas each had a pair of goals, while Alex Gow finished with 15 saves.
Meet the Captains
Seniors Drew Hoffenberg and Kayj Shannon will serve as the Tigers' co-captains in 2014. Appearing in 26 games last season, Shannon ranked fourth on the team in scoring (43G), while collecting 15 steals and drawing 38 ejections. An ACWPC honorable mention All-America selection a year ago, Hoffenberg started 27 of the squad's 28 contests, leading the team in goals (66), assists (32) and ejections drawn (47), while tying for second in blocks and finishing third in steals (40).
Back in the Mix
Princeton returns almost all of its scoring from last season, led by Drew Hoffenberg. The senior co-captain paced the Tigers with 66 goals and 32 helpers en route to All-America accolades. Joining Hoffenberg on the All-America team was Thomas Nelson, who hopes to build on a stellar junior campaign, which saw him rack up 53 goals and 19 assists. The Southern Division Rookie of the Year, Jovan Jeremic amassed 61 goals during his first campaign in Orange and Black, while veterans Kayj Shannon and Jamie Kuprenas combined for 68 scores.
Walled Off
Seeing the majority of time in net last season, Alex Gow appeared in 22 games, posting a 14-5 record. Putting forth several marquee performances, he notched a career-high 17 saves against Mercyhurst in mid-November before tallying 15 saves against St. Francis in the CWPA Championship en route to All-Tournament accolades. Recording a .580 save percentage, Gow also dished out eight assists while nabbing 15 steals.
New Kids on the Block
Princeton welcomes freshmen Eric Bowen, Jordan Colina, Ryan Hammarskjold, Connor McGoldrick and Vojislav Mitrovic to the men's water polo family this season. Bowen was a three-time all-league and two-time conference Player of the Year at Santana High School, while Colina was twice named a Junior All-America selection as a standout at Cathedral Catholic. Hammarskjold was an All-WBAL and All-CCS Div. II performer at Menlo School, while McGoldrick was a two-time All-Inter-ac and All-Eastern Prep pick at William Penn Charter School. Mitrovic has played on the Serbian National Team since 2007, helping his country's U-20 squad to a World Junior title in 2012.
Familiar Faces
Princeton played three of its four opponents at this year's edition of the Invitational last season, posting a 3-1 record in those contests. The Tigers prevailed in a pair of showdowns against Johns Hopkins, outscoring the Blue Jays, 26-15. The Orange and Black edged out Brown in the Ivy Championship, 13-12, while falling to St. Francis in the Eastern final, 11-9.