Princeton University Athletics
Keller Maloney
Photo by: Nicole Maloney
No. 8 Men's Water Polo Travels To California For NCAA Quarterfinals
November 30, 2022 | Men's Water Polo
Game Notes | Live Stats | Video
PRINCETON – The No. 9 Men's Water Polo Team heads to California to take on the No. 1 USC Trojans in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Thursday at 8 p.m.
The winner of Princeton and USC moves onto the championship bracket to play UCLA (22-4) at California. In the second opening-round game, Pacific (21-6) will play UC Davis (19-7), with the winner advancing to the championship bracket to play California (21-2).
The National Collegiate Water Polo Championship is on December 4th at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
The Tigers' 27 victories are a program record, breaking the mark set by the team last season (26). Head coach Dustin Litvak's group's 13-game winning streak is also tied for the longest in program history.
The Northeast Water Polo Conference Champions have posted 395 goals which is the second most ever, trailing only last year's 430 tallies. The Tigers have 13 players with at least 10 goals and 10 with 20 tallies. 335 of the team's 395 goals were assisted.
King Roko VI
Roko Pozaric leads the team with 61 this season. He's only the sixth player in program history to register at least two 60-goal seasons (Matt Payne, Andrew Hoffenberg, John Stover, Robert Urquhart and Kevin Foster).
Hoffenberg and Payne scored at least 60 goals three times and no player has ever done it four straight years.
Pozaric is a two-time First-Team All-NWPC player and was named the conference's Player of the Year in 2022. He also earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and was ACWPC Third-Team All-America.
The sophomore is a remarkable 196-17 in sprints during his time at Princeton and has 88 career assists which is two shy of climbing into the top 10.
Pozaric was named to the Peter J. Cutino Award Watchlist earlier in the season. The award named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men's and women's college water polo. The last Princeton player to win that award was Ashleigh Johnson '17 in 2017.
An All-Time Keller
Keller Maloney leads the team in scoring with 104 points, securing a team-high 50 assists along with 54 goals. His 50 helpers are the fourth most in a single season in Princeton history and are a career high.
In his career, Maloney has 198 goals and 164 assists. He's two tallies shy of becoming the eighth Tiger to reach the 200-goal milestone while his 164 helpers are the second most.
Maloney is a three-time all-conference honoree and has been first-team in the last two seasons. He also secured Honorable Mention All-America in 2021.
Antonio The Stopper
Antonio Knez was named First-Team All-NWPC this season, the second time he's earned that honor in his career. He was 13-3 this season with 171 saves and a .546 save percentage, putting up 13 assists and 11 steals. His best moments of the season include 18 stops vs. No. 12 UC Irvine and 19 saves at No. 20 St. Francis Brooklyn.
Dusty The Leader
Princeton is currently 12-5 against ranked opponents. The NWPC conference champions' best win of the season was a 11-10 decision over No. 3 Stanford, the team's first victory over the Cardinal ever.
Litvak helped the Tigers to the NWPC title for the second consecutive season, marking the first time ever that Princeton had won two straight conference crowns. He also helped the Tigers to a perfect regular season conference record, the first time the team had achieved that since 2015.
For his career, Litvak is 88-39, posting a .692 winning percentage.
Princeton NCAA Tournament History
This is the eighth time that Princeton has been to the NCAA Tournament and the first time its reached NCAAs in consecutive years.
The Tigers made it for the first time in 1992 as a club before next appearing in 2004, collecting fourth place. Princeton has finished third twice in 2009 and 2011, corralling one win in each tournament.
Princeton lost in the Play-In Game in 2015 and 2018, but won that contest in 2021, dropping No. 16 Fordham, 17-8.
Princeton vs. USC
The Tigers are 0-8 all-time vs. USC. These two squads last played each other in 2019 with the Trojans coming out on top, 14-6. Those closest contest has been a seven-goal affair in 2008.
PRINCETON – The No. 9 Men's Water Polo Team heads to California to take on the No. 1 USC Trojans in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Thursday at 8 p.m.
The winner of Princeton and USC moves onto the championship bracket to play UCLA (22-4) at California. In the second opening-round game, Pacific (21-6) will play UC Davis (19-7), with the winner advancing to the championship bracket to play California (21-2).
The National Collegiate Water Polo Championship is on December 4th at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
The Tigers' 27 victories are a program record, breaking the mark set by the team last season (26). Head coach Dustin Litvak's group's 13-game winning streak is also tied for the longest in program history.
The Northeast Water Polo Conference Champions have posted 395 goals which is the second most ever, trailing only last year's 430 tallies. The Tigers have 13 players with at least 10 goals and 10 with 20 tallies. 335 of the team's 395 goals were assisted.
King Roko VI
Roko Pozaric leads the team with 61 this season. He's only the sixth player in program history to register at least two 60-goal seasons (Matt Payne, Andrew Hoffenberg, John Stover, Robert Urquhart and Kevin Foster).
Hoffenberg and Payne scored at least 60 goals three times and no player has ever done it four straight years.
Pozaric is a two-time First-Team All-NWPC player and was named the conference's Player of the Year in 2022. He also earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and was ACWPC Third-Team All-America.
The sophomore is a remarkable 196-17 in sprints during his time at Princeton and has 88 career assists which is two shy of climbing into the top 10.
Pozaric was named to the Peter J. Cutino Award Watchlist earlier in the season. The award named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men's and women's college water polo. The last Princeton player to win that award was Ashleigh Johnson '17 in 2017.
An All-Time Keller
Keller Maloney leads the team in scoring with 104 points, securing a team-high 50 assists along with 54 goals. His 50 helpers are the fourth most in a single season in Princeton history and are a career high.
In his career, Maloney has 198 goals and 164 assists. He's two tallies shy of becoming the eighth Tiger to reach the 200-goal milestone while his 164 helpers are the second most.
Maloney is a three-time all-conference honoree and has been first-team in the last two seasons. He also secured Honorable Mention All-America in 2021.
Antonio The Stopper
Antonio Knez was named First-Team All-NWPC this season, the second time he's earned that honor in his career. He was 13-3 this season with 171 saves and a .546 save percentage, putting up 13 assists and 11 steals. His best moments of the season include 18 stops vs. No. 12 UC Irvine and 19 saves at No. 20 St. Francis Brooklyn.
Dusty The Leader
Princeton is currently 12-5 against ranked opponents. The NWPC conference champions' best win of the season was a 11-10 decision over No. 3 Stanford, the team's first victory over the Cardinal ever.
Litvak helped the Tigers to the NWPC title for the second consecutive season, marking the first time ever that Princeton had won two straight conference crowns. He also helped the Tigers to a perfect regular season conference record, the first time the team had achieved that since 2015.
For his career, Litvak is 88-39, posting a .692 winning percentage.
Princeton NCAA Tournament History
This is the eighth time that Princeton has been to the NCAA Tournament and the first time its reached NCAAs in consecutive years.
The Tigers made it for the first time in 1992 as a club before next appearing in 2004, collecting fourth place. Princeton has finished third twice in 2009 and 2011, corralling one win in each tournament.
Princeton lost in the Play-In Game in 2015 and 2018, but won that contest in 2021, dropping No. 16 Fordham, 17-8.
Princeton vs. USC
The Tigers are 0-8 all-time vs. USC. These two squads last played each other in 2019 with the Trojans coming out on top, 14-6. Those closest contest has been a seven-goal affair in 2008.
Players Mentioned
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