2013 W&J Women's Water Polo Preview
Washington & Jefferson returns nine letter winners with hopes of finishing the season with a winning record for a third-straight year. Last year, under the direction of first-year Head Coach Jay O'Neil, the Presidents posted an 11-5 record, marking the fourth consecutive season that W&J won at least 10 matches. O’Neil was named CWPA Coach of the Year after the Presidents tied a single-season school record for victories.
Leading the way for the offense will be junior Catherine Villa (Poway, Calif./Poway), who finished with 29 goals (2nd on team) a year ago. A Second Team CWPA Division III All-Conference selection, Villa was recognized by the ACWPC as an honorable-mention All-America choice last spring.
2012 CWPA Division III Freshman of the Year Sara Boldt (Grand Haven, Mich./East Kentwood) is also back after a 27-goal campaign, when she earned all-conference, second-team laurels.
Juniors Randi Cartwright (Holt, Mich./Holt), Kelsey Leis (Flourtown, Pa./Springfield Township), Margot Wummer (Havertown, Pa./Germantown Academy) and Dana Wieber (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) and sophomore Jessica Sweitzer (Laurel, Md./Seton Keough) are all expected to bolster the Presidents’ lineup. Wummer tied a W&J single-game record with nine goals during a 14-5 victory against Penn State-Behrend last season.
Senior McKenzie Graf (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) and sophomore Charlotte Lima (Brooklyn, N.Y./Choate Rosemary Hall) will most likely once again share time in goal.
The Presidents are expected to battle Grove City for the conference title. The Wolverines have had Washington & Jefferson's number in recent years as Grove City owns a nine-match win streak against the Presidents. GCC knocked off W&J in the CWPA Division III Eastern Championship match last season.
The Presidents open the season with a tough four-game stretch at the Indiana University Fluid Four Tournament in Bloomington, Ind. W&J faces the host Hoosiers along with additional Division I opponents Michigan and Long Beach State. Washington & Jefferson opens the tournament against Dollard, a Canadian club team.
