Heading into the weekend, the Princeton women’s water polo team (27–3 overall, 9–1 CWPA) was ranked No. 6 in the week 13 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) poll, tying a program record for the Tigers.
The Tigers started off the weekend with a tough 7–6 loss against the No. 12 ranked Michigan Wolverines (22–9, 9–1) before taking care of business against Bucknell (5–24, 0–10) and St. Francis (12–20–1, 2–7). After the loss against the Wolverines, the Tigers are expected to drop at least two spots down in the next weekly poll.
The first period of the match against the Wolverines was a back-and-forth affair, as both teams scored three goals within the first eight minutes. Sophomore center Jovana Sekulic scored while former high school teammates, senior attacker Annie Robinson and junior utility Kaila Carroll also added their names to the scoresheet.
The second quarter was a defensive battle. Both teams missed several key chances and could not break away from one another. Sophomore utility Kayla Yelensky put the Tigers up 4–3 before the Wolverines quickly responded to tie the game heading into halftime.
Coming out of halftime in front of their home crowd, the reigning CWPA champions had a point to prove. The Wolverines held the Tigers scoreless for the entire third period and scored two of their own, taking a 6–4 lead heading into the final period.
“I feel we did well on our woman down after the first couple ejections,” head coach Derek Ellingson told The Daily Princetonian. “[However], our woman up was a big reason for our loss including a missed five-meter attempt.”
He added, “In such a close game, conversions on those opportunities are very important.”
The Wolverines would score yet again to extend their lead to three. However, Yelensky completed her hat trick with two more goals to cut the lead to one with two minutes remaining. The Tigers got the stops they needed defensively, but failed to convert offensively when it mattered most, dropping a crucial match to the Wolverines 7–6.
First-year goalie and reigning CWPA defensive player of the week Lindsey Lucas had just six saves during the match.
The game had many controversial calls with the majority of Michigan’s goals coming from a six on five advantage or a penalty shot.
Despite the loss, the Tigers still had two more games to play on the weekend in Ann Arbor and winning both would help them secure the No. 1 seed heading into the CWPA tournament at Princeton.
The first of the two games was against the Bucknell Bison, who came into the game with zero conference wins. The Tigers ensured that it would continue that way.
After an early goal by the Bison, the Tigers put their foot on the pedal and scored seven straight goals to take a commanding 7–1 lead.
Princeton went into halftime with a comfortable 9–2 lead. Sekulic, sophomore attacker Rachael Carver, and junior utility Meera Burghardt all had two goals a piece.
The second half was much of the same for Princeton: defense leading to offense. The Tigers would score eight more goals in the game, allowing only four in the process.
Nine different Tigers scored, with first-year utility and reigning CWPA rookie of the week Shanna Davidson scoring a hat trick. Lucas was not tested much in goal, with only seven saves against the Bison.
The last game of the weekend was against yet another bottom-tier CWPA side, the Red Flash out of St. Francis.
The two periods saw both sides find the back of the net with Sekulic, Robinson, and Carroll all scoring for the Tigers. Princeton held a slim 3–2 lead heading into the second period.
The Tigers put the pressure on defensively after a lackluster effort in the first period. They held the Red Flash scoreless for over 18 minutes of game time, scoring eight of their own and holding a 11–2 lead early in the fourth period.
Lucas tallied 11 saves on the occasion, bringing her season total up to 288. She has been a standout player for the Tigers this season, carrying on the legacy of Ashleigh Johnson ’17, former Tiger All-American and Olympic gold medalist for Team USA.
A couple consolation goals by the Red Flash sealed a comfortable 12–4 win for the Tigers, securing the No.1 seed in the CWPA tournament that will be hosted by Princeton from April 28 to April 30.
While they finished the regular season tied with Michigan, Princeton was able to secure the No. 1 seed due to goal differential, as they beat the Wolverines by two earlier this season and only lost by one in this weekend’s match.
With a bye to the semifinal, Princeton now awaits the winner of the No. 4 versus No. 5 matchup, Brown (23–9, 4–5) and St. Francis. A matchup with the Bears is likely on the horizon for the Tigers, who have already beat them twice this season.
“We are prepping for both games with a bye eye for the finals,” Elingson told the ‘Prince.’ “We need to get better reactions before the tournament and work on our woman up.”
He added, “A bunch of things didn’t go our way this weekend and keeping our nose down and working hard will get us where we want to be.”
The Tigers have not made the NCAA tournament since 2015 and have lost to the Wolverines four consecutive times in the CWPA Championship game (2022, 2019, 2018, 2017), and a fifth time in the 2016 CWPA semifinal game.
As the Tigers flew back on Sunday night from Michigan, many questions remained unanswered. Could they finally beat Michigan when it matters most and get a bid to the NCAA tournament? Will Coach Ellingson get his first NCAA appearance as head coach?
The questions will remain in the minds of coaches and players for the next two weeks. The answer: Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 12 P.M. eastern at DeNunzio Pool.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an assistant editor for the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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