Hoosiers Host CWPA Weekend<br> - Indiana University Athletics

Hoosiers Host CWPA Weekend

3/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

Bloomington, Ind. -- The first ever CWPA Western Division Conference Weekend will be held at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center on Saturday, March 6. The CWPA realigned this season to include a Northern, Southern, Northeastern and Western Division to make up the conference. Indiana played in the Southern Division in its three previous years in the CWPA.

The Hoosiers (8-3) will take on Grove City at 12:30 p.m. No. 8 Michigan (12-7) will then take on Slippery Rock (1-3) at 1:45. The Hoosiers will return to battle The Rock at 4:45 p.m. At 6:00 p.m., Michigan will take on Grove City. The final game of the weekend will be the eighth-ranked Wolverines against No. 10 Indiana at 8:15 p.m.

For complete Indiana water polo notes click HERE.

Scouting Grove City

The Grove City Wolverines enter the first CWPA Western Division Conference Weekend with a 0-5 record. The Wolverines recently competed on the West Coast as they fell to Claremont-Mudd Scripps, 15-3, Cal-State San Bernardino, 15-2, Cal Tech, 11-3, and Cal-State Hayward, 14-6. The Wolverines also battled Cal-State San Bernardino for a second time on the West Coast swing and fell, 16-1.

In 2003, Grove City won the most games in the four-year history of the program as they posted a 9-27 record. The Wolverines also placed sixth at the Division III National Championships last year as well.

The Hoosiers own a 4-0 mark all-time against Grove City, including a pair of victories last seasons. In the series, IU has outscored Grove City, 55-6. This will be the first match up between the schools in the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.

Grove City 4-0
3/3/01 W 12-1 N
3/9/02 W 17-4 A
3/30/03 W 12-1 N
4/11/03 W 14-0 N

Scouting Michigan

Michigan enters the first CWPA Conference weekend with a 12-7 mark with all seven losses coming to teams ranked in the top 10. The Wolverines recently went 1-3 at the UC-Santa Barbara Invitational. Michigan opened with a 3-2 win over No. 7 Loyola Marymount before losing three straight to No. 1 USC, 6-4, No. 5 San Diego State, 5-3 and No. 10 Hawaii, 8-7.

The Wolverines are led in scoring this season by a trio of players. Junior Sheetal Narsai leads U-M with 21 goals, while senior Julie Nisbet and junior Casey Kerney have 19 apiece. At the UC-Santa Barbara Invitational, Kerney became only the second Wolverine to score 100 goals in her career. Michigan's defense is lead by two-time All-American and team captain, junior goalkeeper Betsy Armstrong.

The Hoosiers and Wolverines are no strangers to one another having played on 14 occasions over the last four years. Michigan holds an overwhelming advantage in the all-time series and has won the last 13 match ups. The two rivals faced one another earlier this season in a classic confrontation. IU led 2-1 after the first half of play before Michigan stormed back to score the match's final three goals and win 4-2 at the Michigan Invitational. When these two teams get together it is almost assured to be a great match up. Five of the last 13 matches have gone to overtime with nine of the last 13 being decided by two or less goals.

Michigan 5-22-2
In the Last Five:
4/27/02 L (5OT) 8-7 N
1/25/03 L 14-7 A
3/8/03 L (OT) 9-7 A
4/13/03 L 6-2 N
1/25/04 L 4-2 A

Scouting Slippery Rock

Slippery Rock opened the 2004 campaign going 1-3 at the Bucknell Invitational last weekend. The Rock lost its first three matches to No. 18 Hartwick, 13-3, George Washington, 17-6, and No. 19 Princeton, 18-3. Slippery Rock then closed out the Invitational picking up a 13-5 win over fellow Western Division team, Salem International.

The Rock posted an impressive 23-11 record last season. They return their two leading scorers from a year ago in Kim Adams and Jen Zuzack. Adams scored 31 goals in 2003, while Zuzack had 21.

The Rock and Hoosiers have met on five occasions with Indiana winning all five. The Hoosiers downed Slippery Rock, 15-2 last season.

Slippery Rock 5-0
In the Last Five:
3/1/98 W 9-6 N
2/17/01 W 17-4 N
3/24/01 W 13-2 N
4/6/02 W 16-7 H
3/29/03 W 15-2 N

Division Realignment

After playing their first three seasons in the CWPA Southern Division, the Hoosiers are now part of the Western Division. The CWPA realigned this season to include a Northern, Southern, Northeastern and Western Division to make up the conference. The four divisions will all host Divisional Championships with the winner advancing to the CWPA Conference Championships. Four at-large teams will also be selected to compete at the Championships. The winner of the CWPA Conference Championships will play in the NCAA Final Four in Palo Alto, Calif.

The Hoosiers will be joined in the Western Division with some common foes from the old Allegheny Region of the Southern Division. The team making up the Western Division are Gannon, Grove City, Mercyhurst, Michigan, Penn State-Behrend, Salem International, Slippery Rock and Washington & Jefferson.

Recapping Bucknell

Last weekend, the Hoosiers went 3-1 at the Bucknell Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa. IU opened with a disappointing 8-7 loss in sudden death to No. 18 Hartwick. The Hoosiers were rusty coming off a three-week layoff. Indiana rebounded to win its final three games of the Invitational.

IU knocked off No. 19 Princeton, 6-4 following the loss to Hartwick. In the match, junior Krista Peterson set a career high with four assists, while fellow classmate Kandace Waldthaler led the Hoosiers with three goals. On day two of the Bucknell Invite, the Hoosiers picked up a pair of wins, 11-5 over George Washington and 11-3 over Harvard. Against the Colonials of George Washington, Peterson netted a season-high five goals to lead the Hoosiers charge. It was the third time in her career that she had scored five or more goals in a match. Freshman Jaclyn Tameris scored the first two goals of her career against the Colonials, while fellow classmate Kara Woolley registered her first tally as well.

In the second game against Harvard, Waldthaler registered her second three-goal performance of the Invitational, while sophomore Emily Schmitt equaled the feat by scoring a career-high three goals. Freshman Amanda Paul scored the Hoosiers 11th and final goal of the match for the first tally of her career. Woolley also had a career-high three steals in the win for IU.

Defensive Minded

The Hoosiers have looked impressive on the defensive end of the pool in the early part of the 2004 season. Indiana has only allowed more than six goals on two occasions, a 9-4 loss to No. 4 Long Beach State and an 8-7 loss to No. 18 Hartwick. The Hoosiers are giving up an average of just over five goals a game with all nine of the 11 matches on the schedule coming against ranked opponents.

Junior goalkeeper Jessica Goldner is averaging just seven saves a game. At the UCSD Arena Invitational, Goldner had 39 saves in four matches, including an 11-save performance against No. 15 UC-Irvine. She also held No. 17 UC-San Diego to one goal in an 8-1 victory.

Indiana defenders have had a field day as well, averaging just over 11 steals a game. Freshman Kristin Zernicke leads the way for IU with 19 steals. Senior Kristy Streefkerk and sophomore Janis Pardy are tied for second with 14. Sophomore Bridget McKeon and Goldner each have 13 steals on the year. Goldner also has an impressive goals against average at 4.90 goals against average.

All-American Form

Junior Krista Peterson has looked good in the early going of 2004. She is averaging over two goals a game while leading the Hoosiers with 23 on the season.

Peterson has started all 11 matches this season and is shooting 48 percent on 23-of-47. Against George Washington, Peterson netted her third five-plus goal game of her career scoring five in the victory over the Colonials. Along with leading the team in goals, Peterson leads the team in kickouts earned and assists with 22 and 10, respectively.. She is also 3-of-3 on four-meter penalty shots.

Peterson was an honorable mention All-America selection in 2003. She was one of only nine girls outside the state of California to make any All-America team. She was also the CWPA Eastern Championship MVP, scoring nine goals and leading the Hoosiers to the NCAA Final Four. She became the first Eastern player to earn first-team All-NCAA Championships.

Fourth-Place Showing

The Hoosiers had a strong showing at the UCSD Arena Invitational as they placed fourth in a field that included 11 ranked teams.

The Hoosiers knocked off three ranked foes along the way to take fourth. IU opened with a 6-5 win over No. 15 UC-Irvine in pool play. Indiana then turned in a solid performance against No. 4 Long Beach State. Despite losing 9-4, the Hoosiers trailed only 6-4 entering the fourth period. The outcome may have been different had the Hoosiers been able to take advantage of the 6-on-5 opportunities. IU was 0-for-6 with the advantage, while LBSU was 5-of-7.

After dominating the host UCSD, 8-1, the Hoosiers locked horns with No. 11 UC-Santa Barbara. The Hoosiers came back from a late deficit to knock off the Gauchos, 7-6.

Comeback Wins

The Hoosiers have been the comeback kids in the early part of 2004. The Hoosiers have registered four comeback wins when trailing in the second half of play.

At the Michigan Invitational, IU trailed No. 17 Arizona State, 5-4 with just 2:33 remaining in the match. Senior Melissa Pietras netted the tying goal with just 55 seconds remaining, while sophomore Janis Pardy scored the game-winner in the first OT period. The Hoosiers also trailed No. 14 UC-San Diego, 5-4 midway through the third period before scoring five of the game's final six goals to pick up the win.

It was much of the same for Indiana in the UCSD Arena Invitational. After falling behind early 3-0 to No. 15 UC-Irvine, the Hoosiers responded to even it up before the half. Irvine scored first in the second half and then tied it up with six minutes left after the Hoosiers had taken the lead. Freshman Kristin Zernicke scored with just 51.7 seconds remaining to give IU the win.

In the final game of the UCSD Invite, the Hoosiers had to rally past No. 11 UC-Santa Barbara. UCSB took a 6-5 lead with 4:29 remaining before the Hoosiers netted the final two goals for the win. Pietras and junior Krista Peterson each scored in the final 4:29 to pick up the win.

Facing Ranked Opponents

Once again the Hoosiers schedule is loaded with ranked opponents. Aside from the post season, the Hoosier schedule could include as many as 14 ranked opponents.

The Hoosiers first nine matches of 2004 were against ranked opponents with two of IU's three losses coming to teams in the top 10 (No. 10 Michigan and No. 4 Long Beach State). Indiana has knocked off No. 11 UC-Santa Barbara, No. 13 UC-Irvine, No. 15 Arizona State, No. 19 Princeton and No. 17 UC-San Diego on two occasions. The Hoosiers other loss to this point in the year came in sudden death to No. 18 Hartwick.

IU's streak of nine consecutive games against ranked opponents ended at the Bucknell Invitational when the Hoosiers defeated George Washington and Harvard on day two. The Hoosiers will get another shot at the Wolverines of Michigan this weekend in Bloomington. The Wolverines enter ranked eighth.

Last season, the Hoosiers knocked off 11 ranked opponents in 21 matches. IU also knocked off its first top 10 opponents in 2003. The Hoosiers downed then-No. 7 San Jose State at the Michigan Invitational. IU picked up its second top 10 win by beating then-No. 10 UC-Santa Barbara for the Princeton Invitational title.