PRINCETON, N.J.— The Long Island University women's water polo team heads down to New Jersey for the Princeton Invitational this weekend. The Sharks will compete against three top tier opponents at DeNuzio Pool.
LIU will open play against George Washington at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 15. The Sharks will then match up against a pair of ranked opponents on Sunday, February 16. First up is a 10:30 a.m. contest against 22nd ranked San Diego State. LIU then concludes the weekend against 21st ranked Princeton at 3:00 p.m. The tournament finale against the Tigers will air on ESPN+.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
LIU vs. George Washington
Saturday, February 15 | 2:30 p.m.
LIU vs. San Diego State
Sunday, February 16 | 10:30 a.m.
LIU at Princeton
Sunday, February 16 | 3:00 p.m.
ESPN+
NOTES ON THE SHARKS
LIU traveled to Pennsylvania last weekend for the 2020 Bucknell Invitational. The Sharks opened the weekend with an 11-8 loss to 15th ranked Harvard on Saturday morning and then earned their second win of the season in the afternoon, an 11-8 victory over Mercyhurst. Sunday featured a pair of overtime setbacks, falling to Salem, 15-14 in sudden death overtime and a 10-8 decision to La Salle in double overtime.
Freshman
Jessica Dean garnered MAAC Rookie of the Week honors after her standout play this past weekend. The first-year driver posted a team-high 22 points and 18 goals on a .581 shooting percentage to go with 14 sprint wins. Dean recorded eight points on six goals and two assists in LIU's 11-8 victory over Mercyhurst on Saturday.
Rookie
Kate Hinrichs added 11 goals and three assists for the LIU offense. Hinrichs and freshman
Jeannet Garcia led the Sharks with six steals each in four contests.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
George Washington enters the weekend 4-4 on the year and is receiving votes in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association top-25 poll. The Colonials enter the weekend on a three-game winning streak after a strong weekend at the Bucknell Invitational.
Reigning CWPA Player of the Week, junior Alana Ponce spearheads the Colonials offense, posting 32 goals and 10 assists this season. She also leads the team with 13 field blocks and 10 steals.Graduate student Marina Daroca Bazán has added 10 goals on the year.
First-year goalkeeper Mackenzie Matheny was named CWPA Defensive Player of the Week after recording a .522 save percentage and 35 saves last weekend. For the season, she has recorded 70 saves.
SCOUTING THE AZTECS
San Diego State was ranked 22nd in the latest CWPA top-25 poll. The Aztecs stand at 2-4 on the year with all four losses coming against ranked opponents. Matchups against Harvard and Princeton are first on the docket for San Diego State before Sunday's tilt with the Sharks.
Offensively, the team is led by senior Maddy Parenteau with 10 goals through six contests. Senior Isabelle Hastings has distributed a team-leading nine assists. Redshirt-Grace Halliday has been the team's top goalkeeper, posting 21 saves in four games.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Princeton is coming off an 11-day hiatus after competing at the Arizona State Invitational February 1-2. The Tigers posted a 2-2 record in Arizona and will take on Wagner and San Diego State on Saturday before ending the weekend against LIU.
The Tigers received scoring from nine different players in their first weekend of competition. Sophomore Laura Larkin led the way with six goals and six assists. Sophomore Nicole Kresich added a team-high four assists. In the cage, junior Marissa Webb totaled 15 saves and sophomore Isabel Zaller recorded 14 saves.
UP NEXT
The Sharks head up north for the Courtney Fisher Invite on Saturday, February 22. LIU will take on a pair of MAAC foes in Siena and Marist. The Sharks square off with the Saints at 1:00 p.m. before concluding the tournament against the Red Foxes at 7:15 p.m.
