ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (2-1) hits the road to play three games over the weekend in the 2018 Princeton Invitational at DeNunzio Pool in Princeton, N.J. The Midshipmen will play Air Force (1-3), No. 9 Harvard (2-2), and No. 4 Stanford (0-0) during the tournament.
 
Tournament Field
Navy is part of a 15-team field that includes Air Force, Brown, Cal Baptist, Fordham, George Washington, Harvard, Iona, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Santa Clara, Stanford, St. Francis, UCLA and Wagner.
 
Tournament Schedule
Navy opens up the 2018 Princeton Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 8, against long-time foe Air Force. The two Academies take the pool against one another at 8:45 a.m. The Midshipmen continue the tournament with a pair of ranked opponents on Sunday, Sept. 9. Navy squares off against No. 9 Harvard at 10:00 a.m. before concluding the invite against No. 4 Stanford at 1:45 p.m.
 
For a complete schedule of the Princeton Invitational, click here.
 
Last Time Out
The Midshipmen enter the weekend with a 2-1 overall record after competition at the annual Navy Open. Navy defeated Iona, 9-7, in the first game for the Mids under first-year head coach and 1992 alumnus Luis Nicolao. Following a game with No. 13 Princeton (L, 15-9), the water polo team closed out the weekend with an 8-7 victory over Fordham. The win against the Rams was the first for the Mids since 2015 and snapped a four-game skid against the conference foe.
 
Players of the Week
Navy had a pair of players recognized for their performances at the Navy Open. Freshman Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) was named Rookie of the Week by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), while junior Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) was selected as the Naval Academy Athletics Association (NAAA) Athlete of the Week presented by Northrop Grumman.
 
Salinas scored his first two collegiate goals against Iona in the season opener, scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal against the Gaels. He led the team with five points against No. 13 Princeton with three goals and two assists, registering his first collegiate hat trick. Salinas ended the weekend with two points (1g, 1a) against Fordham. In addition to the regular season contests, Salinas also scored a goal in an exhibition game against Lindenwood.
 
Williams started the weekend versus Iona, making 17 saves while allowing just seven goals. He registered nine stops against No. 13 Princeton, including four saves on fast breaks to keep the Midshipmen close against the nationally-ranked foe. The Severna Park native closed out the weekend with his second victory of the year, posting 15 saves with seven goals allowed in a win over Fordham.
 
Back to Princeton
The tournament is a homecoming of sorts for Nicolao who served as the head coach for the Princeton Tigers for 20 years (1998-17) before returning to his alma mater prior to the 2018 season. In his time at Princeton, Nicolao amassed a 402-163 overall record with the Tigers' men's team, while tallying a 442-149 mark as the head of the women's water polo program.