Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Garner Top Seed at Eastern Championship
8/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Apr. 25, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) released the seeds for the 2005 Eastern Championship on Monday and the Indiana water polo team garnered the top seed. The Hoosiers will host the CWPA Eastern Championship on April 30 and May 1 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
The eight teams in the Championship were selected as a result of the Division Championships and at-large bids. Michigan and Indiana earned the two bids from the West as the top two finishers at the Division Championship. Princeton and Bucknell earned the Southern Division berths, while Hartwick and Brown were the North Division representatives. Harvard of the Northern Division and George Washington of the Southern Division were the at-large selections.
The top-seeded Hoosiers (22-9) will face eighth-seeded George Washington (13-14) in the opening round of the Championship at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 30. It will mark the third straight Eastern Championship that the Hoosiers and Colonials have faced each other. Indiana defeated GW in 2003, 9-6, before disposing of them in 2004, 11-6.
The Western Division postseason champion Michigan (25-12) is the tournament's second seed. The Wolverines defeated IU, 11-10, in overtime in the title match of the Western Division Championship. The rivals have faced on three occasions this season with IU leading the season series, 2-1. The Maize and Blue will face seventh-seeded Bucknell (22-9) at noon on Saturday. Like Indiana and George Washington, the two teams have met in the 2003 and 2004 Eastern Championship. Michigan won both meetings 14-2 and 15-3, respectively.
The Princeton Tigers (26-7), winners of the Southern Division Championship, are the third seed. The Tigers will battle sixth-seeded Brown (14-11) at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday to close out the first session of competition. Brown and Princeton faced off in the 2004 Eastern Championship with the Bears picking up an 8-3 victory. Brown won the 2001 Eastern Championship, and advanced to the finals in 2003 before falling to Indiana, 7-5.
The Northern Division Champion and defending Eastern Champion Hartwick enters as the fourth seed in the tournament. The Hawks (26-8) will play fifth-seeded Harvard (16-8) at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Hartwick defeated Indiana in the semifinals, 6-5, before knocking off top-seeded Michigan, 5-2, in the title match a season ago.
Each of the last two seasons, the second-seeded team has won the conference title. In 2003, Indiana was the second seed, while last season Hartwick was No. 2. The last top seed to win the Eastern Championship was Michigan in 2002.
The winners of the Indiana-George Washington match and the Hartwick-Harvard affair will meet in the first semifinal at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. The second semifinal will pit the winners of the Michigan-Bucknell and Princeton-Brown matchups at 8:30 p.m. The championship match is set for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 1.
The winner of the Eastern Championship will earn the CWPA's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The NCAA Championship is set for May13-15 at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Mich.
