Saturday, November 24
Princeton, N.J.
1:00 PM
Princeton University
vs
George Washington
Photo by: Ed Haas
No. 12 Princeton Ready For First NCAA Tournament Appearance Since 2015
November 21, 2018 | Men's Water Polo
PRINCETON, N.J. – The No. 12 Princeton Tigers welcome the No. 16 George Washington Colonials to DeNunzio Pool for the opening round the NCAA Water Polo Tournament on Saturday (Nov. 24) at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.
The Tigers are playing in the sixth NCAA Tournament after winning their fifth conference title on Sunday following a win over No. 12 Harvard, 12-10. Princeton last reached NCAAs in 2015 and also made it in 2011, 2009, 2004 and 1992. The Tigers have finished as high as third in 2009 and 2011.
The winner of that game will take on UCLA (22-4), the third-place finisher in the MPSF and the defending national champion, on Nov. 29 at 5:45 p.m. The semifinal (Dec. 1) and championship (Dec. 2) games will be played at the Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford and streamed live on NCAA.com.
Princeton sits at 19-10 overall. After going 1-4 on the California trip with all four losses to ranked foes, the Tigers wrapped up the regular season with two conference victories to secure the No. 3 in the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Tournament. In the NWPC Tournament, the Tigers defeated Iona in the first round (16-7) before taking down St. Francis-Brooklyn (9-7) in the semifinal.
In the title matchup, Princeton defeated Harvard for the first time in six games. The Tigers' offense came out strong in the third quarter, rolling off four of the first five goals of the stanza, jumping its lead to four, 8-4, with 2:18 left. After Princeton registered the first tally of the final stanza, Harvard closed within three several times, but the Tigers answered with a response each time. The Crimson were held off the scoreboard for the final 1:24 of action as the Tigers secured the victory.
Litvak's squad is led by Payne, who has a team-best 73 goals and is tied for the lead in assists with 43. The senior's 73 goals are the fifth most in a single-season in program history while his 238 career goals are tied for the fourth most all-time. Payne also had 146 helpers in his four years at Princeton, the second most ever.
Eight players for Princeton has secured at least 20 goals. Wilson is second on the team with 74 points (31 goals and 43 assists) and has the most assists in Princeton history with 215. Payne, Wilson and Keller Maloney are the only players with at least 20 goals, 20 assists, 20 steals and 20 drawn ejections. Wilson also has 27 sprint wins to lead the 2018 NWPC Champions. Ryan Melosini and Billy Motherway have split time at goalie this season, securing a combined .509 save percentage.
George Washington is 22-6 and won the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship with a 12-11 overtime victory over Bucknell. Atakan Destici leads the group with 81 goals and 67 assists while Andrew Mavis has posted 79 tallies. Andras Levai is second on the Colonials in points with 68 tallies and 62 helpers. Princeton has not lost to George Washington since 1998.
In the most recent CWPA Varsity Poll, the Tigers improved to six spots to No. 12, following their NWPC title. Stanford climbed to No. 1 with UCLA and USC tied for No. 2. Princeton is now the top East Coast school in the poll.
The Tigers are playing in the sixth NCAA Tournament after winning their fifth conference title on Sunday following a win over No. 12 Harvard, 12-10. Princeton last reached NCAAs in 2015 and also made it in 2011, 2009, 2004 and 1992. The Tigers have finished as high as third in 2009 and 2011.
The winner of that game will take on UCLA (22-4), the third-place finisher in the MPSF and the defending national champion, on Nov. 29 at 5:45 p.m. The semifinal (Dec. 1) and championship (Dec. 2) games will be played at the Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford and streamed live on NCAA.com.
Princeton sits at 19-10 overall. After going 1-4 on the California trip with all four losses to ranked foes, the Tigers wrapped up the regular season with two conference victories to secure the No. 3 in the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Tournament. In the NWPC Tournament, the Tigers defeated Iona in the first round (16-7) before taking down St. Francis-Brooklyn (9-7) in the semifinal.
In the title matchup, Princeton defeated Harvard for the first time in six games. The Tigers' offense came out strong in the third quarter, rolling off four of the first five goals of the stanza, jumping its lead to four, 8-4, with 2:18 left. After Princeton registered the first tally of the final stanza, Harvard closed within three several times, but the Tigers answered with a response each time. The Crimson were held off the scoreboard for the final 1:24 of action as the Tigers secured the victory.
Casey Conrad was honored as the tournament's most valuable player while Billy Motherway secured top newcomer and Dustin Litvak was honored as top coach. Matt Payne, Ryan Wilson and Conrad were named to the NWPC All-Tournament first team while Michael Swart secured second team accolades.FINAL: Princeton 12, Harvard 10
— Princeton Water Polo (@Pwaterpolo) November 18, 2018
Everybody get in the pool because we're champions! Tigers win the NWPC Title! pic.twitter.com/15UlHFcWEK
Litvak's squad is led by Payne, who has a team-best 73 goals and is tied for the lead in assists with 43. The senior's 73 goals are the fifth most in a single-season in program history while his 238 career goals are tied for the fourth most all-time. Payne also had 146 helpers in his four years at Princeton, the second most ever.
Eight players for Princeton has secured at least 20 goals. Wilson is second on the team with 74 points (31 goals and 43 assists) and has the most assists in Princeton history with 215. Payne, Wilson and Keller Maloney are the only players with at least 20 goals, 20 assists, 20 steals and 20 drawn ejections. Wilson also has 27 sprint wins to lead the 2018 NWPC Champions. Ryan Melosini and Billy Motherway have split time at goalie this season, securing a combined .509 save percentage.
George Washington is 22-6 and won the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship with a 12-11 overtime victory over Bucknell. Atakan Destici leads the group with 81 goals and 67 assists while Andrew Mavis has posted 79 tallies. Andras Levai is second on the Colonials in points with 68 tallies and 62 helpers. Princeton has not lost to George Washington since 1998.
In the most recent CWPA Varsity Poll, the Tigers improved to six spots to No. 12, following their NWPC title. Stanford climbed to No. 1 with UCLA and USC tied for No. 2. Princeton is now the top East Coast school in the poll.
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Men's Water Polo
ATT
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
UTL
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