Hoosiers Travel to Westerns<br> - Indiana University Athletics

Hoosiers Travel to Westerns

4/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

Bloomington, Ind. -- The No. 10 Indiana water polo will look to win their first Division Championship when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the CWPA Western Division Championships. The Championships are set for Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18 in the Canham Natatorium. The Cream and Crimson will play the second game of the Championships against the seventh-seed Grove City at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday.

Indiana enters the Divisionals seeded second following its second-place, 7-1 finish in the CWPA Western Division. The Hoosiers lone loss in the Division came to the top seed and No. 8 Michigan, 4-1 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. The two teams faced off twice during the season with Michigan winning both battles.

A first or second-place finish at the Western Division Championships would assure the Hoosiers a spot in the CWPA Eastern Championship, Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25. The winner of the CWPA Eastern Championship will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Final Four. The Final Four will be held in Stanford, Calif. on Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9.

For Complete Water Polo Notes Click HERE.

CWPA Western Division Brackets and Schedule

Bracket A
1st seed: Michigan
4th seed: Washington & Jefferson
5th seed: Slippery Rock
8th seed: Salem International
9th seed: Penn State-Behrend

Bracket B
2nd seed: INDIANA
3rd seed: Gannon
6th seed: Mercyhurst
7th seed: Grove City

Saturday, April 17, 2004
AM
9:00- Game 1- Salem International vs. Penn St.-Behrend
10:15- Game 2- INDIANA vs. Grove City
11:30- Game 3- Gannon vs. Mercyhurst
PM
12:45- Game 4 - Wash. & Jeff. vs. Slippery Rock
2:00- Game 5- Michigan vs. Winner of Game 1
3:15- Game 6- Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 2
4:30- Game 7- Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3
6:00- Game 8- Loser of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 1
7:30- Game 9- Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4
9:00- Game 10- Winner of Game 8 vs. Loser of Game 5

Sunday, April 18, 2004
AM
9:00- Game 11- Loser of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 8
10:15- 5th place- Winner of Game 10 vs. Winner of Game 6
11:30- 3rd place- Loser of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 9
PM
12:45- 1st place- Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 7
2:00- 7th place- Winner of Game 11 vs. Loser of Game 10
Loser of Game 11 is automatically Ninth Place

Divisional History

The Hoosiers are 8-3 all-time in CWPA Division Championships. Prior to this season, Indiana played in the CWPA Southern Division. The conference realigned following the 2003 season with Indiana now playing in the Western Division.

During the Hoosiers' first two years in the conference, IU placed third in the Southern Division Championships. Last season, Indiana advanced to the Championship match of the Southern Division before falling to Michigan, 6-2.

In 2001, Indiana knocked off Villanova, 16-8 and Salem International, 20-10 in the first two matches of the Championships. In the semi-finals, the Hoosiers fell to Princeton, 12-6. Indiana rebounded to knock off George Washington, 11-7 in the third-place game.

In 2002, Indiana again made light work of its first two opponents downing Villanova, 19-5 and Washington & Jefferson, 18-3. This time, Michigan downed IU, 11-7 in the semi-finals. Once again, the Hoosiers beat George Washington, 16-7 in the third-place match up.

Last season, the Hoosiers advanced to the finals of the first time as they downed Grove City, 14-0, Villanova, 15-5 and Princeton, 7-4. IU lost in the finals to Michigan, 6-2.

Impressive Showing Against World's Best

The Hoosiers turned in a solid showing against the United States National Team as part of Team USA's College Tour in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Despite falling to the defending World Champions, 15-5, the Hoosiers turned in some impressive performances. Indiana actually led the best team in the World with under three minutes remaining in the opening period, 2-1.

Junior All-American Krista Peterson showed she could play with the best in the World netting a hat trick to lead the Hoosiers. Junior Kandace Waldthaler and sophomore Janis Pardy each added a goal as well for Indiana. Freshman Kristin Zernicke had a solid game as well assisting on two goals and making a team-high three steals. Pardy also had a pair of assists, while sophomore Emily Schmitt assisted on a goal agianst Team USA.

Junior Jessica Goldner was solid in net for the Hoosiers. The 2003 second-team All-CWPA selection had six saves and one steal in the cage for IU.

Chasing the Books

Junior Jessica Goldner is quickly etching her name into the Hoosiers record books as the top goalkeeper ever to suit up in the Cream and Crimson. After setting single-game school records in saves with 19 and shots faced with 30 last season, Goldner has moved into the top spot on the career shots faced list and ranks second in career saves.

After facing 44 shots at the Fluid Four Invitational, Goldner moved past Kirsten Mayberry for the most shots faced by an Indiana goalkeeper in a career. She now has faced 1,356 career shots in three seasons for the Hoosiers. She also ranks second on the career saves list with 611 blocks. She trails Mayberry, who has 666 career saves. With an average of 7.7 saves a match this season, Goldner would need to play in just over seven games to accomplish the feat.

Senior Leaders

Seniors Kristy Streefkerk and Melissa Pietras were honored at the Fluid Four Challenge as the pair played in their final home matches for the Hoosiers. The duo has been looked upon to provide leadership this season to a team that includes eight freshmen and four sophomores.

Over their four-year careers, the senior duo has helped lead the Hoosiers to a 81-44-1 record, including a 27-5 mark in CWPA Divisional play. They have also been a part of IU's first CWPA Eastern Championship, the school's first Final Four appearance and a school record 26 wins in 2003.

Back-to-Back CWPA Players of the Week

The Hoosiers have had the CWPA Western Division Player of the Week two consecutive weeks on March 25 and April 1 . Freshman Kara Woolley was named the POW on April 1 for her performance against five conference foes, while junior Kandace Waldthaler earned the same honor on March 25 for her play at the Aloha Classic.

Woolley helped the Hoosiers to a 5-0 mark against conference foes, while scoring 12 goals, dishing out eight assists and making eight steals. She shot 85.7-percent on 12-of-14 shooting. Woolley now ranks fourth on the team in goals with 19.

Woolley was a force in the Hoosiers' 21-goal school record performance against Salem International. The Fresno, Calif., native netted her second career four-goal game against the Tigers. She also had a career-high tying three steals against SIU. Woolley recorded two more hat tricks on the weekend in wins over Penn State-Behrend and Washington & Jefferson. She ranks third on the team in hat tricks with four.

Also against Penn State-Behrend, Woolley equaled a school record with five assists. She holds the mark with two other girls and is the first since 2002 to accomplish the feat. Woolley also had a pair of steals in the victory over the Behrend Lions and helped the Hoosiers establish another school record for team steals in a game with 26.

Waldthaler helped the Hoosiers to a 3-2-1 mark in bracket `A' of the Aloha Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Fairfield, Calif., native scored 13 goals in the six games.

Waldthaler netted three hat tricks on the weekend and scored at least two goals in five of the six matches. In the Hoosiers two collegiate match ups against No. 2 Stanford and No. 6 Hawaii, Waldthaler continued her scoring barrage. She scored five goals on only five shots in the two matches and converted both four-meter penalty shots she attempted.

For the year, Waldthaler ranks second on the Hoosiers with 33 goals. She leads the Hoosiers in four-meter penalty goals with eight and kickouts earned with 36.