Water polo squad finishes 5th at CWPA Eastern Championships

The IU water polo team ended its season by finishing third at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Championships this weekend. The Hoosiers, seeded fifth in the tournament, knocked off No. 2-seed and rival Michigan in the third-place match. The Hoosiers finished the regular season with a 19-14 record and probably will not receive an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. Only three teams receive an at-large bid.\nIU coach Barry King was happy his team won to finish the 2007 campaign.\n“It’s always great to win in the final game of the year, especially over a rival such as Michigan,” King said in a statement. “It was an absolute war, and we happened to get the breaks. Our players handled some adversity in the middle of the match very well.”\nIU beat the Wolverines 5-3 in the match. Junior Brooke Zimmerman notched a hat trick in the contest, and senior Kristin Zernicke and freshman Katie Carson each scored a goal.\nIU beat Brown 9-8 on Saturday but lost to top-seeded Hartwick 15-7 in the tournament semifinals.