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Princeton's du Pont & Ward Named February 22 Women's Varsity Defensive Co-Players of the Week
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- Princeton University goalies Grace du Pont (So., Tarrytown, N.Y./Phillips Exeter Academy) and Kristen Ward (So., Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis) combined to make 41 saves to key the No. 20-nationally ranked Tigers to a 3-1 weekend at the Princeton Invitational and share honors as the February 22 Women's Varsity Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week.
An attacker who appeared in seven games during her freshman season, du Pont was called into service as a goalkeeper following an injury to Ward in the preseason to mind the pipes for the first two games of the season.
Against Gannon University in the season-opener, she stopped 10 shots to help the No. 20-nationally ranked Tigers roll to a 21-5 victory and the first collegiate win of her career.
She concluded her time in cage against No. 5-nationally ranked the University of Michigan turning away 10 shots as the Wolverines escaped with a 13-10 victory.
Ward took over netminding duties for the final two contests of the weekend turning away 11 shots in a 12-8 victory over Colorado State University before blocking down 10 scoring attempts in a 13-11 victory over No. 18-ranked Brown University.
The victory over Brown, combined with the close loss to Michigan, could have value down the line as all contests among Collegiate Water Polo Association teams are weighed in deciding the seeds for the 2010 Eastern Championship set for April 30-May 2 at the University of Maryland.
