Indiana University Athletics
IU Breaks Records in Wins
4/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Welcome to "Late Night with Krista Peterson," and believe that it was worth staying up for.
The 15th-ranked Indiana women's water polo team opened its postseason play with two victories at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division Championship Friday night.
Indiana (22-8) shutout Grove City, 14-0 in their afternoon game and topped Villanova, 15-5, in the nightcap.
Peterson, a native of Portland, Ore., netted a career-high six goals on eight shots against Villanova, tying the school record for goals in a game. Peterson ended the first night of competition scoring 10 goals on 12 shots over two games.
"Krista is a big-time player, who likes to move her game to the next level in the postseason," said Indiana head coach Barry King. "We are expecting a lot more of that from her this weekend."
Against Villanova, Indiana came out of the gates flat and quickly found itself down 4-2 against the Wildcats. After a Peterson goal to begin the game, Villanova's Ellen Howe answered with two of her own to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game.
The momentum shifted frequently throughout the first half, mainly due in part to Howe and the Hoosiers' Peterson and Bridget McKeon. Peterson scored all six of her goals in the first half, while McKeon recorded a goal and an assist. In the second half, McKeon would account for four more Hoosier goals, ending the game with three goals and three assists.
Stanford entered Friday night's second game with 64 goals on the season, two shy of the school record for single-season scoring - a record which she has set and broken over the past two years.
The Cincinnati, Ohio, native scored her 65th goal on the season with 1:53 remaining in the first quarter, and added her final three of the game in the second half. The record-breaking goal came at the 2:23 mark of the third quarter, on an assist from classmate and, most fittingly, her best friend, Jamie Marley.
"Kristin has had an incredible year and has shown remarkable consistency," said King. "This record just shows that she has developed her game even more this year and has clearly shown that she is one of the best players in the country."
In the afternoon game, the Hoosiers easily took care of the Wolverines of Grove City College. Peterson exploded in the first quarter scoring on all four shots that she took, and netting all but two of the six goals Indiana had in the first seven minutes.
Marley, Melissa Pietras, and Courtney Thom all recorded two goals each for IU, with Thom assisting on two more. Ginger Wang led the Hoosiers in steals with four, while Pietras and Thom each had three.
Four Hoosier goalies were used against Grove City, each playing one seven-minute quarter. Only five shots by GCC were fired on the Hoosiers throughout the game. Jessica Goldner, Stanford, McKeon, and Clare Meadows, all contributed to the third Hoosier shutout of the year, and fourth in school history.
The Hoosiers and the rest of the 13-team field were treated to quite the atmosphere at Bucknell University, competing in one of the finest sports centers in the East. Housed in the middle of the student recreational center and the Sojka basketball arena, the Arthur Kinney Natatorium was truly made for a championship setting. Unfortunately though, the bulkhead that separated the playing field with the diving well, mysteriously sank earlier in the day, giving off an appearance similar to the U.S.S. Arizona submerged at Pearl Harbor.
Indiana was without key freshman Courtney Livak Friday night, as she was sidelined for the second consecutive week with soreness in her right shoulder and knee.
Indiana successfully won its respective bracket with two wins Friday, and will now face 13th-ranked Princeton at 5:45 p.m. EST on Saturday. The meeting with the Tigers will be the Hoosiers' first since IU defeated Princeton, 11-10, in the third-place game at last year's Eastern Championships.
