Men's Water Polo: Princeton clinches regular-season Southern Division title at home

Despite some pipe damage at DeNunzio Pool earlier in the week that kept the men’s water polo team from regular training, the No. 14 Tigers showed their strength in a three-game weekend against George Washington, Fordham and Iona. A 12-8 win against George Washington on Friday night allowed the Tigers to clinch their second CWPA Southern Division regular season title in three years with a 6-2 record.

Other Southern Division teams still have yet to finish their seasons, but each has at least three losses, assuring Princeton (17-7 overall, 6-2 CWPA South) first place.

Freshman center Matt Weber was a strong contributor against the Colonials (9-15, 2-5), leading the goal tally with four, while senior attacker Chris Cottrell and sophomore center Connor Still contributed two goals apiece. The Tigers poured in four goals late in the first quarter and early in the second to break open a 1-1 game. Princeton kept up its momentum in the second half with seven goals to the visitors’ six, as sophomore goalie Ben Dearborn made seven saves in three quarters for the victory.

“The games this weekend were a testament to our team play,” sophomore attacker Kurt Buchbinder said. “Even though we had a slow start to the GW game, our depth and discipline really showed in the second half when we were able to distance ourselves from them. It was also great to have Connor Still in the water after coming back from a concussion.”

The Tigers’ domination extended to Saturday with wins against Fordham (6-18) and Iona (10-11). Princeton started off with a 14-6 victory against Fordham, powering through a spectacular second half. Freshman attacker Drew Hoffenberg’s goal at the closing seconds of the second quarter pulled the Tigers ahead to 6-4, while Buchbinder, junior attacker Tim Wenzlau and senior center and co-captain Mike Helou extended the lead in the second half.

In the afternoon, the Tigers returned with the same energy to complete the day with a season-high 19 goals against Iona. Weber scored four goals again while Wenzlau contributed three. Sophomore Tyler Amina made seven saves in three quarters, including a shutout in the second quarter.

Princeton is now 17-7 overall with the three wins. The Tigers will be back in action next Sunday at the Ivy League Championships at Harvard, where Princeton is the event’s number-one seed.

“With our team play and some stand out performances when we need them, we can hopefully continue our streak into the Ivy League Championships and then even to Southerns and Easterns,” Buchbinder said. “Our goals as a team have remained constant, and this was a step in the right direction to achieve them.”