Women's water polo headed to national tourney Second-seeded Panthers earn berth in championship match, fall to top-seeded Yale

Author: James Kerrigan

Middlebury played host to the 2006 Women's Water Polo New England Division Championship this past weekend in the Natatorium. Six teams from five schools crammed in a total of 11 games over a 30-hour stretch, culminating in a thrilling championship game that saw the Yale squad prevail 7-4 over Middlebury.

After finishing the 2005 season with a 6-6 record - including a third-place finish last year at the same event - the Middlebury women came into this year's campaign with high expectations. Since the program's inception seven years ago, Coach Brian Goodwin has been committed to providing a fun atmosphere while still striving for development. With a history of perennial improvement and a growing talent pool, Middlebury was set to shine at last weekend's tournament.

This year, Goodwin organized scrimmages each week against the men's team to boost the quality of competition and to simulate tough matches. When it came time for league play, the Panthers were ready. In addition to game-like practices, the team "got to know each other's playing style a lot better and the players are supportive of each other and want to improve as a team," according to Pam Chatikavanij '08.

Captain Robin Cornuelle '06 has witnessed the growth of the program firsthand: "The team went into this season with a 'winning' mentality, and everyone was incredibly dedicated to, and focused on, the goal of qualifying for nationals, which no Middlebury women's team has done before."

Sixteen teams from 13 regions qualify for nationals. The remaining spots are filled by a second team from the two regions that reached the 2005 final, and one additional team from the host region. Because Dartmouth reached the final last year, the top two New England squads will travel to Northwestern University for the national competition.

Coming into the tournament with a 6-2 record - Yale is responsible for both losses - the Middlebury team was granted a number-two seed. Two contests on Saturday determined which opponents the Panthers would face on Sunday, when the stakes were raised.

In the most productive offensive performance by any team in the entire tournament, Middlebury took care of Wesleyan 18-6, thus setting up a showdown between twin-state rivals Dartmouth and Middlebury.

The "night-cap" attracted both fans and excitement. Coach Goodwin recognized the importance of the crowd. "The place was packed on Saturday night. There must have been 300 people. Their enthusiasm was very helpful," he said.

With dog-days-of-August conditions in the Natatorium to start, the extra fans raised the temperature, and as the game headed into overtime, things in the pool began to heat up as well. After a hard-fought regulation, the teams rested and prepared for two extra mini-quarters, each of which lasted three minutes. Middlebury and Dartmouth scored one goal apiece in the overtime session to tie the game once more at 9-9.

Water polo rules call for a sudden-death period to determine a winner. After Dartmouth won the "swim-off" to gain first possession, the Middlebury defense swam and swarmed, ultimately forcing a turnover. In the ensuing possession, the Panthers converted, won 10-9 and beat Dartmouth for a second time this year - Middlebury had never beaten them before this season.

Beating Dartmouth was a huge accomplishment, but there was still more work to be done. One of the three top teams (Middlebury, Dartmouth and Yale) wasn't going to make the final game - Sunday morning semifinal matches were unavoidably important.

Middlebury was confident they could take care of Williams, and they did so 12-9. Earning a spot in the national tournament was thrilling. Cornuelle '06 was happy to see such success in her final season on the team. "Middlebury has never even made it to the New England championship game before, and we had never beaten Dartmouth before this season, during which we won both times we played them... so everything about this season has been monumental for our program."

Just a few hours later, Middlebury squared off with Yale, the league's top-ranked team in the tournament final. They kept it close through the end of the third quarter (4-4) but three late goals by the Bulldogs gave them the title and the number two seed for the national tournament. Goodwin sited "mental fatigue" and a "key player lost in the fourth quarter" as factors contributing to the loss. Middlebury finished with a 9-3 record, good enough for second in the division.

In preparation for the May 5 opening-round game against Miami (Ohio), the team will keep working on the things they have been all year. Goodwin affirms, "Once you get the skill level up (passing, shooting, swimming and conditioning) then it's all about adapting a style based on the opposition and execution."

Middlebury will travel to Chicago to do their best, but as Chatikavanij says, "just getting to the nationals is a reward all together in itself."