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Eight of CWPA's Best to Clash at 2008 ECAC Championship on September 20-21
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - There will be no mercy between No. 12 Saint Francis College, George Washington University, Harvard University, Bucknell University, No. 18 Brown University, No. 20 Johns Hopkins University, Iona College and No. 18 Princeton University this weekend as the eight teams clash at the 2008 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship at Harvard University's Blodgett Pool on September 20-21.
The tournament, which has featured at least one of the two teams to advance to the CWPA Eastern Championship later in the season, will be a showdown between eight of the 12 best teams in the league according to the September 17 Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 10 poll.
Seeded based on the teams finishes at the 2007 Eastern Championship won by the United States Naval Academy at Harvard last season, the tournament will feature the CWPA's penultimate tournament's second through seventh place finishers. Princeton University, which failed to qualify for the Eastern Championship a year ago, received the eighth seed for ECACs this year as back-to-back conference champion and NCAA qualifier Navy elected not to participate in the tournament.
No. 12 nationally ranked, CWPA top-ranked and top seed Saint Francis will look to continue an unprecedented string of success at the ECAC Championship as the Terriers have captured the last four titles (2004-07). Last season, Saint Francis downed the United States Naval Academy 8-7 at Bucknell University behind a Most Valuable Player performance by Terriers' goalie Nikola Djuric (So., Belgrade, Serbia/IV Belogradska Gimnazija) for the program's fourth title in as many years. Previously, Saint Francis downed Navy (10-9 in 2006 at Brown), Princeton (10-6 in 2005 at Princeton, 15-10 in 2000 at Princeton), Bucknell (13-7 in 2004 at Harvard) as the Terriers have never finished outside the Top 5 at the ECAC Championship following second (2001), third (2003) and fifth (2002) place finishes.
Second seed George Washington will seek its first title game appearance as the Colonials are making fifth ECAC tournament appearance after placing ninth (2001), seventh (2007), sixth (2004) and fifth (2003), while third seed and host Harvard University makes its eight straight tournament appearance after placing ninth (2003), eighth (2007, 2005, 2004), sixth (2006), fifth (2001) and fourth (2002).
Third seed Bucknell joins eighth seed Princeton as the only teams to appear in each ECAC tournament as the Bison have finished eighth (2002, 2001), sixth (2003, 2000), fourth (2006, 2005), third (2007) and second (2004), while Princeton has never finished outside the top four placing fourth (2007), third (2006, 2004, 2001), second (2005, 2002, 2000) and first (2003, 8-6 W vs. Navy at Brown).
Fifth seed Brown will seek break back into the Top 5 as the Bears have finished seventh (2006), sixth (2007, 2005, 2001) and fourth (2003) and sixth seed Johns Hopkins will seek to move up in the Top 5 as the Blue Jays have finished fifth the past four tournaments (2004-07) after placing eighth (2003) and seventh (2002, 2001).
Iona is the team which did not appear at the 2007 ECAC Championship as the Gaels will seek to break into the Top 5 following ninth (2004), eighth (2006), seventh (2003) and sixth (2002) finishes.
However, before crowning the 2008 ECAC Champion the CWPA champion and NCAA qualifier, remember a bit of history.
Only three times since 2000 has the ECAC Champion also been the CWPA Eastern Champion as Saint Francis (2005), Queens College (2002) and the University of Massachusetts (2001) pulled off the feat. Also, consider that George Washington and Harvard finished seventh and eighth at the 2007 ECAC Championship, but improved to place third and fourth at the 2007 Eastern Championship, a dramatic improvement.
So, enjoy the tournament, but remember there are many games left to play and the No. 1 team in September will have to prove it again in November.
