IU hopes to find wins and extend season

The IU women’s water polo team travels to Princeton, N.J., this weekend to play three games.\nIf they run the gauntlet and go 3-0, they’ll earn a trip to the NCAA championships May 11-13.\nBut if they lose once, their season ends Sunday.\n“For me, it’s just like any other tourney,” senior center Melissa Soria said. “You want to play like every game is your last, but you don’t want to have it on your mind.”\nThe Hoosiers (16-13) are the No. 5 seed in a field of eight at the CWPA Eastern Championship. In the first round they’re set to clash with Brown University.\n“They’re a really grabby team,” Soria said. “They put a lot of pressure on you and are all over the place in the water.”\nIU coach Barry King said Brown plays aggressive, but not necessarily hard or dirty, defense.\n“They’re very physical,” King said. “They like to get up in your grill. But that doesn’t translate to being dirty.”\nIU lost to Brown in their lone match this year 8-4 on March 17. At that point in the season, IU had lost five of its previous seven. After the loss to Brown, IU’s record dropped to 7-10. Since then, the Hoosiers have won nine of 11.\n“That was probably the worst performance of our season,” King said. “To their credit, they flat-out beat us. But we’ve improved, and I wouldn’t expect us to repeat that type of performance.”\nThe tournament is set up in a way that even if the Hoosiers lose their first game, they will still play twice more to determine 5th through 8th. If the Hoosiers get past Brown, they would play the winner of the match between Harvard University and Hartwick University. IU played Hartwick – the No. 1 seed in the tournament and ranked 12th nationally – on Feb. 18, losing 12-11 to the Hawks. \n“This tournament is interesting all the time,” King said. “But it hasn’t been as balanced as it is this year.”\nRegardless of who IU plays this weekend – Brown, Hartwick, host Princeton University or even rival Michigan – King said the most important factor for his team’s success is to play to its potential.\n“We’ve shown ourselves we’re as good as anyone in the pool when we play well,” King said. “We have to decide we’re going to play well regardless of what color cap the other team has on.”