The No. 16 Princeton men's water polo team will square off
with three Southern Division foes this weekend, beginning with a Saturday, Oct.
13 twinbill with No. 14 Navy (17-2, 3-1) at 12 noon and Johns Hopkins (18-5,
3-1) at 7:30 p.m. at DeNunzio Pool. The following evening, the Tigers (9-8,
3-1) head to Lewisburg, Pa. for a 5 p.m. matchup with Bucknell (6-9, 0-4).
Live Video at DeNunzio ($) l @PUTigers l @Pwaterpolo l Live
Video at Bucknell ($)
Behind a Billy Tifft fourth quarter goal, the Tigers managed
to propel past Bucknell, 10-7, at home on Oct. 6 in their last outing. Freshman
Alex Gow won his fourth game in the cage behind a 10-save performance, while
Drew Hoffenberg's stats came in threes via goals, assists, steals and ejections
drawn.
This weekend's games prove to be pivotal in the Southern
Division standings, as Princeton, Johns Hopkins and Navy are all 3-1. The
Midshipmen do hold an advantage over the Tigers, having defeated Princeton,
13-10, in the first meeting between both squads in Maryland on Sept. 22. Navy
enters Saturday's game riding a 5-2 record, playing its last seven games on the
road versus both Division I and III teams. Paul Pedrotty leads the Mids'
offense with 59 goals and 23 assists, while goalie Tyler Barker has 67 saves,
73 goals against and a .479 goals against average.
Johns Hopkins is also currently riding a 5-2 streak and is
coming off 14-13 upset victory over No. 14 Navy on Oct. 10. The Tigers are 1-0
this year versus the Blue Jays, besting JHU, 9-6, in Baltimore on Sept.
23. The Johns Hopkins defense is led by goaltender Danny Ovelar, who has 133
saves and has allowed 97 goals against over 49 quarters of work. Ross
Schofield's 70 goals and 40 assists headline the offense.
Following their games versus the Mids and Jays, the Tigers
trek to Bucknell for their third meeting with the Bison this season. In the
first meeting on Sept. 16, Princeton outlasted Bucknell, 13-9, for third place at
the North-South Invite and remained undefeated versus the Bison in last week's 10-7
win. Jack Else has a team-best 33 goals over 15 starts and goalkeeper Matt
Napleton has 140 saves, 145 goals against and a .491 saves percentage.
