Team heads east for Championship

The No. 15 Hoosier water polo team will travel to Boston, Mass., this weekend to compete in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Eastern Championships, today through Sunday.\nOn Monday, the CWPA announced the Hoosiers would be a No. 2 seed in the tournament. IU will play its first game on Saturday, most likely against No. 7 George Washington.\nIf the seeds hold to form, the Hoosiers will then play No. 3 Princeton Saturday afternoon. The Tigers were ranked ahead of IU at the Southern Division Championships two weeks ago, but because of a 7-4 Hoosiers victory, the seeds were reversed. \nOnce again, the No. 1 seed went to Michigan, as they won the Southern Division by beating the Hoosiers 6-2. If IU beats Princeton they will then probably face the Wolverines for the tournament championship on Sunday afternoon.\n"We would really like another shot at Michigan," senior Kristin Stanford said. "This tournament has been our goal all year, and we are really looking to pick up the intensity now."\nWhen IU and Michigan last squared off against each other at the Southern Division tournament, senior Jamie Marley was hit in the jaw by a Michigan player, and later taken to the hospital. Yet X-rays were negative, and the team leader in assists is listed as probable for the weekend.\n"She is going to play, we are going to put her in the pool and test her," coach Barry King said.\nBut the Hoosier players were quick to downplay any notion of revenge if they get the chance to play Michigan.\n"We are just going to put the incident behind us, and not really think about it," senior Kristy Streefkerk said. "We won't let that fuel us, we already have enough motivation with the thought of making it to the NCAAs."\nOther teams competing in Boston are Hartwick, Brown, Harvard, Bucknell, Iona, Wagner, Villanova, and Gannon. There are five teams from the Southern Division, five teams from the Northern Division, and two at large teams. \nThe winner of the tournament goes on to play in the NCAA Championships, May 10-11, in La Jolla, Calif. Only four teams make it to the NCAA Championships, so the Hoosiers are very excited at the opportunity to get there.\n"I think we are all a lot more excited than nervous," said Streefkerk. "We just want to go in there and beat them and play well." \nThe Hoosiers have had a successful season, and they know that will have to continue to keep it alive.\n"From day one this is the weekend that we have been pointing to and focusing on," King said.