Nov. 8, 2008

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The 14th-ranked Navy water polo team pieced together two dominating performances on Saturday to advance to the CWPA Southern Division Tournament finals on Sunday. The Mids blasted Washington & Jefferson, 22-5, before defeating Johns Hopkins, 16-6, in the nightcap to reach the finals. The wins move Navy's record to 17-8 overall.

Navy is now 48-4 all-time in 16 Southern Division Tournaments all-time and will search for its 12th championship tomorrow against the host, Princeton. The Tigers are the only team to defeat Navy in the CWPA Southern Tournament.

The contest will be played at 3:30 pm on Sunday and will be streamed online at Princeton's website, www.goprincetontigers.com.

"We had a pretty good effort all day," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "I was pretty pleased with the way we played today. Tomorrow is a big game for us in that the winner will get the No. 1 overall seed at the Eastern Championship in two weeks. We are looking forward to a big game with Princeton, who is a very good team. We will have to play very well to win on Sunday."

In the tournament opener against Washington & Jefferson, the Mids cruised to a 22-5 victory. Sixteen different players scored goals, led by Drew Kollmann's three. Luke Baldwin, Matt Carlson, Kyle Wertz and Arny Warren scored twice each. Chase Hansen played the majority of time in goal, registering seven saves in three quarters of action.

In the second game, a 16-6 win over Johns Hopkins, balanced scoring was again the theme, as 10 different players netted goals, led by Michael Mulvey's three. Chuck Baker, Dan Zoellick, Kevin Bell and Wertz scored a pair each. Brett Rajchel had a strong day in goal, stopping 11 shots.

With the win against Washington & Jefferson, the Mids qualified for the CWPA Eastern Championship to be played in Annapolis on Nov. 21-23.

# GO NAVY #