Players Mentioned
Men's Water Polo Heads to Bucknell For CWPA Southern Championships
November 03, 2015 | Men's Water Polo
PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University men's water polo team returns to action this weekend (Nov. 6-8) at the 2015 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Championships hosted by Bucknell University.
The tournament's top seed, Princeton opens play on Friday, Nov. 6 against Gannon at 3:30 p.m. The defending Southern champions, the Tigers closed out the 2015 regular season with a 16-4 overall mark with an 8-0 record in CWPA Southern play.
LAST TIME OUT
• Princeton closed out its regular season slate last weekend with a pair of wins over Navy and Bucknell.
• Edging out Navy, 15-13, the Tigers dispatched of Bucknell, 9-7.
• Thomas Nelson had six goals on 11 shots (0.545) while also picking up three steals and two assists.
• Matt Payne also netted six goals in two games to go along with three assists and a steal.
• Logging all 64:00 minutes in net over the weekend, Vojislav Mitrovic turned away 25 of the 45 (0.556) shots he faced while collecting two assists and four steals.
ONE-TWO PUNCH
• Thomas Nelson and Matt Payne helped power the Tigers past Navy and Bucknell last weekend, combining for 12 goals, five assists, and four steals.
• Finding the back of the opposing net three times on six shots against Navy, Nelson also drew three ejections while picking up two assists and a steal.
• Against Bucknell, Nelson netted two of his three goals in the latter stages of the fourth quarter while also nabbing a pair of steals.
• Scoring on three of five shots vs. Navy, Payne also drew three ejections and dished out three assists while recording a block.
• Against Bucknell, Payne once again had three goals on five shots while picking up a steal and winning his lone sprint.
ROUNDING INTO FORM
• Coming into his own, Vojislav Mitrovic has posted double-digit saves in each of his last four outings.
• Making 25 saves over the weekend, Mitrovic had 11 stops against Navy before turning away 14 shots vs. Bucknell.
• A two-time CWPA Defensive Player of the Week this season, Mitrovic has posted a 14-4 record in 2015 with a 0.584 goals-against-average.
• As a rookie, Mitrovic was 18-3 with a 0.604 save percentage. His 253 saves during his freshman year rank second all-time on the program's single-season charts.
• His 208 saves this season currently sit seventh.
SHARING THE WEALTH
• Nine different Tigers have scored at least 10 goals this season, while seven different players have collected double-digit assists.
• Thomas Nelson has a team-high 52 goals while also dishing out 18 assists.
• Jordan Colina and Ryan Wilson are tied for second on the team in goals with 38. Wilson is first on the squad in assists with 28, while Colina ranks fourth (20).
• Michael Swart is second in helpers (23) and fourth in goals (25), while Jovan Jeremic has 24 goals and 19 assists.
• Jamie Kuprenas has 10 goals to go along with 22 assists, while Matt Payne has 19 goals and nine helpers. Connor McGoldrick has 10 goals and 11 assists while Eric Bowen has 16 goals on 30 shots.
TITLE DEFENSE
• Last season, Princeton captured its eighth Southern Championship.
• Also opening the tournament against Gannon, the Tigers earned a 17-8 decision before defeating Johns Hopkins, 8-6. Princeton downed Bucknell in the championship game, 12-10.
• Jovan Jeremic, Jordan Colina, Eric Bowen each had two goals against Gannon, while Jamie Kuprenas dished out four assists. Colina was 3-0 on sprints, while Bret Hinrichs and Connor McGoldrick each had three steals.
• Colina and Jeremic also had two goals against JHU, while Kuprenas had two assists.
• Curtis Fink had two goals in the final against Bucknell, while Thomas Nelson had a goal and two assists. Kuprenas nabbed four steals while Colina was 4-0 on sprints.
SOUTHERN CHAMPIONSHIPS
• The regular season champion, Princeton secured the top seed for this weekend's championship.
• The championship's seedings were based on a vote of the division's head coaches.
• The Southern Championship will feature all 11 teams from the East and West Regions, who will compete for five automatic bids to the 2015 CWPA Championship.
• The top three teams from the Northern Division will join the top five teams from the Southern Division and four at-large selections at the CWPA Championship on Nov. 20-22 at MIT.
• Teams are divided into brackets based on their win/loss records during the season:
Bracket A: No. 1 Princeton, No. 8 Gannon
Bracket B: No. 2 Bucknell, No. 7 Washington & Jefferson, No. 11 Penn State-Behrend
Bracket C: No. 3 Johns Hopkins, No. 6 Mercyhurst, No. 10 Salem International
Bracket D: No. 4 Navy, No. 5 George Washington, No. 9 Monmouth
Weekend Schedule
Friday, Nov. 6
1. Princeton vs. Gannon (3:30 p.m.)
2. Navy vs. George Washington (4:30 p.m.)
3. Bucknell vs. Washington & Jefferson (6:10 p.m.)
4. Johns Hopkins vs. Mercyhurst (7:30 p.m.)
5. George Washington vs. Monmouth (8:50 p.m.)
Saturday, Nov. 7
6. Bucknell vs. Penn State-Behrend (9 a.m.)
7. Johns Hopkins vs. Salem International (10:15 a.m.)
8. Navy vs. Monmouth (11:30 a.m.)
9. Washington & Jefferson vs. Penn State-Behrend (12:45 p.m.)
10. Mercyhurst vs. Salem International (2 p.m.)
11. 1st in Bracket A vs. 1st in Bracket D (3:20 p.m.)
12. 1st in Bracket B vs. 1st in Bracket C (4:40 p.m.)
13. 2nd in Bracket D vs. 2nd in Bracket A (6 p.m.)
14. 3rd in Bracket C vs. 3rd in Bracket B (7:20 p.m.)
15. 2nd in Bracket C vs. 2nd in Bracket B (8:40 p.m.)
Sunday, Nov. 8
Ninth-Place: 3rd in Bracket D vs. Winner Game 14 (9 a.m.)
Seventh-Place: Loser Game 15 vs. Loser Game 13 (10:20 a.m.)
Fifth-Place: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 15 (11:40 a.m.)
Third-Place: Loser Game 12 vs. Loser Game 11 (1 p.m.)
First-Place: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 (2:20 p.m.)
Seeding based on a vote of the division's head coaches; Loser of Game 14 is 11th-Place.