Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Head Back Out On The Road At Terrapin Invitationanl
2/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 15, 2007
Terrapin Invitational Notes
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The Indiana women's water polo team will head east for the Terrapin Invitational, held in the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium on Feb. 17-18. The Hoosiers will open the tournament by taking on host Maryland at 10:30 a.m. EST on Saturday and then facing George Washington at 2 p.m. On the final day of the tournament, IU will take on Hartwick at 9:15 a.m. and then wrap up play against Princeton at 11:45 a.m.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
Maryland -- The Maryland water polo team opened the 2007 season by dropping all three of its contests at the Triton Invitational, hosted by UC San Diego. Five of the Terps' top six scorers from last year--Rachel Jordan, Elizabeth Hopkins, Blaise Stanicic, Bryndis Klein, and Christen Vagts--are returning to the team as sophomores and are expected to take on starting roles. Leadership will be vital in directing Maryland's enormous potential to another winning record. Junior driver Allie Houseal will take on the position as co-captain alongside senior Marissa Corwin. Corwin will also be busy in another role--goalie. Considered the most competitive position on the Terps' squad this season, Corwin will compete with sophomore Ashleigh Jobson and junior Anna Gossett for playing time.
George Washington -- The George Washington women's water polo team opens the 2007 season this weekend at the Terrapin Invitational. Last year the team finished with a 10-15 overall record, just the second losing mark in the program's six seasons as a varsity sport at GW. Most likely to provide the biggest impact will be senior co-captains Jenna Burnett and Morgan Hooker, the Colonials' top point producers in 2006. Burnett finished her junior season with 23 goals and a team-high 23 assists to earn second team All-CWPA Southern Division status. Hooker, GW's go-to offensive option at two-meter set, enters her final season on pace to become the program's all-time leading goal scorer. A first team All-CWPA Southern Division performer last season, Hooker added a team-best 40 goals in 2006. Juniors Rebecca Stein and Greta Pedraza and sophomore Amy Moren return at driver after combining for 46 goals and 65 points last season. In goal, junior Julie Jacoby has been outstanding in a reserve role, posting the lowest career goals against average in program history (5.58) while turning away 60 percent of her shots faced the last two years.
Hartwick -- Hartwick is currently 6-7 on the year entering the tournament and ranked No. 13 in the nation. Most recently, the Hawks fell to UC Santa Barbara 12-6, at the Triton Invitational. Kristen Hudson leads Hartwick with 30 goals and 15 assists on the year. She also has grabbed 18 steals and trails just Olivia Colebourne (23) in that category. Overall, five Hawks have tallied double-digits in goals and four have picked up more than 10 assists on the season. In goal, Colebourne has seen action in all but two periods of action for Hartwick, with 136 saves. Hartwick has 13 letterwinners back from last year's squad, which went 28-11 on the year.
Princeton -- The Tigers enter the weekend with a record of 2-2 after finishing 11th out of 16 teams at the Triton Invitational, Feb. 10-11, in San Diego, Calif. Princeton, ranked No. 17 in the nation, returns an experienced and successful squad that has won three straight Southern Championships and has won 71 games over the last three seasons. Last season the Tigers went 20-6 overall and were 5-1 in the Southern Division. The Tigers won the league's regular season title and won the Southern tournament by defeating George Washington and Maryland in games played at DeNunzio Pool. As a result, the Tigers were given the third seed at Easterns and won their opening-round game over Brown, before falling to second-seed Michigan in the semifinal round. The 2007 edition of the Princeton roster is an experienced one, with nearly half (seven) of the 15 players being seniors.
LAST TIME OUT
The No. 20 Indiana women's water polo finished in eighth place at the Stanford Invitational, held at the Avery Pool on the campus of Stanford University, on Sunday, Feb. 4 The Hoosiers, playing without their leading scorer heading into the weekend, Melissa Soria, fell to No. 2 UCLA to open the day, 10-3, and dropped the final match of the tournament, 18-7, to No. 7 Arizona State. IU is now 3-5 on the year. In the opening match, UCLA exploded for seven goals in the first period of play to take an early 7-0 lead. Another Bruin goal in the second frame took the score to 8-0 at halftime.
Indiana outscored UCLA, 2-1, in the third frame for their first scores of the day and then tallied one goal in the final period to end up with three in the loss. Brooke Zimmerman provided two of IU's goals in the game and Maggie Hannon scored the other for the Hoosiers. In the final match of the tournament for the Hoosiers, Zimmerman again led Indiana with four scores and Kristin Zernicke added two. Nicole Sands tallied one goal for IU in the loss as well.
SEASON OPENERS
After starting the 2007 season at the Michigan Kick-Off marked the sixth straight season in which the Hoosiers have opened play in Ann Arbor. In 2006, Indiana went 1-3 at the Michigan Kick-Off, and won two of three contests at the Michigan Invitational to start the 2005 campaign. The Hoosiers have won just three season-openers at Michigan, the 16-3 win over UC Santa Cruz last week, a 6-5 overtime triumph over Arizona State on Jan. 24, 2004, and a 10-8 victory against Hartwick on Jan. 25, 2003.
IN THE RANKINGS
The water polo team opened the 2007 season where it finished the year before, ranked No. 20 in the National Collegiate Women's Top 20 Poll, which was released on Jan. 24. The Hoosiers were 11th in the preseason poll in 2006 and went on to spend the rest of the year in the rankings. The Hoosiers share their preseason ranking with Brown University. The Hoosiers are also ranked No. 4 in the inaugural CWPA Poll.
After winning its second straight regular-season CWPA Western Division title in 2006, the Indiana water polo team is looking to repeat as divisional champion, return to the CWPA Eastern Championship and compete for a national title in 2007. The Hoosiers, who went 24-11 a year ago, return four of their top five players, including returning 201 of their 311 goals from 2006.
20 WINS THE MARK
For the eighth time in its nine-year existence, the Indiana water polo program eclipsed the 20-win plateau in 2006. Indiana went 24-11 last season. The lone year IU failed to win 20 was 2001, when the Hoosiers finished 18-12-1.
Indiana head coach Barry King has led the Hoosiers during every season as a varsity sport. In his nine years, he has guided the Hoosiers to a 200-105-2 (.655) record.
The school record for wins is 26. Indiana won 26 matches in 1998 and 2003. The 2003 squad also was the first to win the CWPA and advance to an NCAA-sponsored Final Four.
LEADING THE WAY
The Hoosiers are returning four of their top five players from the team that won its second consecutive CWPA Western Division Championship. In goal, the Hoosiers return second team All-Western Division selection Jackie Pyrz a year after she posted 259 saves and a 6.24 goals against average. The Hoosiers will also have plenty of experience at defender, with seniors Emily Schmitt and Claire Nicholson anchoring the position. Schmitt returns to the Hoosiers after missing the 2006 season due to injury. The Beaverton, Ore., native has 87 career steals to go along with 67 scores in her 108 games as a Hoosier. Nicholson played in 30 matches last season for IU, registering 22 steals on the season to go along with four goals and 12 assists.
At attacker, the Hoosiers will rely on senior Kristen Zernicke and junior Brooke Zimmerman to run the offense. Zernicke is already in the top 10 in IU history with 170 career steals, while Zimmerman scored 53 goals in her first year as a Hoosier. Zimmerman also led all returning players in 2006 with 43 assists and 66 steals. The Hoosiers also return a strong scoring threat in center Melissa Soria. Soria returns for the Hoosiers after posting 61 goals a year ago, the third-most in the history of the Hoosier program, and earning second team All-CWPA laurels. She scored five goals on three different occasions last year and earned 42 kickouts on the year.
SETTING NEW MARKS
In 2006, freshman Melissa Soria scored 61 goals, tying former Hoosier Krista Peterson for third on the single-season list, while senior Janis Pardy posted a single-season record with 47 assists on the season. She also added 47 goals and 71 assists on the year, both career highs. Sophomore Brooke Zimmerman posted outstanding numbers in her first season as a Hoosier, finishing second on the team with 53 goals, 43 assists and 66 steals. Junior Kristen Zernicke tallied 25 goals, 38 assists and 64 steals, as well. In goal, sophomore Jackie Pyrz set a new Hoosier record by facing 673 shots, while her 259 saves are the third-most by an Indiana goalkeeper in a single season. Zimmerman's 53 goals tie her for eighth-most in a single season in IU history, while her steals total is also the eighth-best single season mark. Zernicke's 38 assists on the year are the seventh-most in a single season in IU history, while her 64 steals tie her with Ginger Wang for ninth in a season.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
In 2006, five IU water polo student-athletes were named to the AWCPA All-Academic Team and eight were named Academic All-Big Ten. Junior Kristen Zernicke posted her third straight year as an "Outstanding" selection to the AWCPA team, the highest level of academic honor a player can receive from the organization.
