By Andrew Lichtenauer
Senior Writer
The women’s water polo team finished fourth out of six teams in the Southern Championships at home last weekend. The Orange and Blue defeated George Washington in their first game (17-8) and then lost to No. 14 Princeton (14-6) and Harvard (15-7).
Leading the Bison in their win against George Washington were Julianne Valdes ’14, Ariel Frankeny ’12 and Taylor Barnett ’15. Valdes had six assists against the Colonials, which ties the program’s single-game record for assists. Frankeny and Barnett also both sc0red four goals. The 17 goals marked a season high for the Orange and Blue, who are now 4-0 against George Washington this spring.
In the Princeton game, the Tigers got out to a 7-3 first quarter lead and continued to winden the lead over the next three quarters. In the Harvard game, the Crimson outscored the Bison 9-4 in the first half and never looked back after that.
Valdes had the most impressive showing for the Bison at the Southern Championships, recording a total of eight goals and eight assists in three games played. Valdes’ season point total is now 100, which makes her only the fourth player in program history to have scored 100 points or more in a single season.
The Bison are now 14-21 on the season, and will enjoy a week off from competition before they hit the pool again for the Eastern Championship in Providence, R.I. April 27-29. The winner of the Eastern Championship earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.
“For Easterns we will get the chance to play against and defeat several high-level opponents if we step out onto the pool deck confident in our abilities as a team,” Frankeny said. “I absolutely believe that we have the talent and the ability to win any game this weekend, regardless of who we play, and I’m excited to fight it out in the pool one last time before I graduate.”