Men’s Water Polo Ready for Packed Weekend at Home

The Princeton men’s water polo team (7-5) is preparing for a weekend of hosting four games at DeNunzio Pool. The Tigers will play Iona College on Sept. 30, No. 15 Brown on Oct. 1, No. 8 Harvard on Oct. 2, and later that day, MIT. These games are crucial to maintain or better national rankings and to gain practice playing opponents they will surely see again. The Tigers finished the 2015 season with a Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship win, an NCAA tournament bid, and a ranking of 10thin the nation, the only school outside of California to do so. It was the team’s second-highest final ranking ever. This season, they hope to continue their success; the men began the season ranked 11thand recently dropped to 14th, but a series of wins against their also-ranked Ivy League rivals this weekend could allow them to rise again.

The men look to be favored going into the game with Iona; they have dominated the Gaels every year in recent memory. Brown, however, may pose a challenge. The last time Princeton faced Brown was the 2014 CWPA Championship that Princeton lost by one point, and the Tigers are certainly eager to avenge this defeat. Perhaps the most difficult game this weekend will be against that school in Cambridge, Harvard, which is currently ranked 8thin the country. In 2015, on their way to a CWPA Championship win and the NCAA tournament, the Princeton team trounced Harvard 10-8. This year, the Crimson have beat several opponents that have edged out the Tigers, including UC-Santa Barbara and the Air Force Academy. A victory for Princeton is not out of the cards, however, and could potentially move them up in the national rankings. The final game on Sunday, against MIT, which is unranked, will likely prove to be a bit easier for Princeton.

Both new and returning Princeton athletes will make the team as competitive as possible against this weekend. The Tigers swept every Northeast Water Polo Conference award this week, including Defender, Player, and Rookie. Junior goalkeeper Vojislav Mitrovic, who was named Defender of the Week, is primed to continue his dominance in the pool. In 2015, his 301 saves broke the record for most single-season saves in Princeton history. Twice he has made 20 saves in a game, also a program record. Matt Payne, a sophomore driver, was awarded the Player of the Week title in recognition of his points and assists at the Mountain Pacific Invitational, most notably the four points that he scored in last Friday’s loss to UC-Santa Barbara. Rookie of the Week went, for the second consecutive week, to Sean Duncan, a freshman from Mountain View, California. Duncan scored two goals in a game against Whittier College and performed well against No. 11 UC-Davis.

This weekend’s games will doubtlessly challenge the Tigers, but the achievement of their 2015 season and the strength they have displayed thus far point towards an excellent 2016.