Hopes sink against Indiana
Men miss top four, still end season with win

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The men’s water polo team happily celebrated their final game with a victory. Northwestern defeated Iowa 14-10 and tied for seventh place at the Big 10 water polo championships at Michigan State Oct. 25-27.

“This season, I’ve had the most fun out of my four years,” said senior captain Dmitry Lubensky.

Hours before the Iowa game, the team walked into the locker room hanging their heads. Lubensky waited 15 minutes in the stands before going to shower and dress. Indiana beat Northwestern by five goals to take second place in the first-round bracket. Michigan was also in Northwestern’s bracket.

The top team in each of three brackets advanced to the semi-finals. The second-place teams played each other, with the best team in the new bracket advancing to the semi-finals. Northwestern placed third and had to play the last-place teams in the other two brackets, Iowa and Wisconsin, for seventh, eight and ninth places in the Big 10.

On Friday night, Michigan swam laps around Northwestern.

On Saturday night, Northwestern woke up to play Indiana, a rematch of the previous week when Northwestern lost in overtime. At Michigan State against Indiana, Lubensky fouled out for the game before the end of the first half.

After losing heartbreaking to Indiana, Northwestern played unmotivated early in their mostly meaningless game against Wisconsin. Wisconsin had a 5-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Suddenly, Northwestern erupted on offense, tying the score at five by the half. Northwestern continued its strong play in the second half, taking an 8-7 lead a couple of minutes before the end of the third. But Wisconsin tore back, shutting out Northwestern in the fourth, winning 11-8, with two goals in the final two minutes.

After losing to Wisconsin, Northwestern completely dominated its game against Iowa from the opening possession. Michigan and Michigan State finished as the top two teams in the conference, clinching trips to the national championships. Purdue and Indiana were the other teams in the top four.

Top of Page

Back to Water Polo home

Home      Complete Links      About Club Sports
Staff      About Us      Contact Us
Work for us      Advertise info