MAKING A SPLASH: Princeton University men’s water polo goalie Kristóf Kovács unloads the ball in action earlier this season. Sophomore Kovács has made 316 saves this season in helping Princeton win the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) tournament. The Tigers, now 23-8, are heading into the NCAA tournament where they are seeded fifth and will face fourth-seeded and host Stanford in the quarterfinal round on December 6 at the Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, Calif. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Justin Feil

It took a little convincing, but Kristóf Kovács has found just what he was looking for in Princeton University.

Growing up in Hódmezovásárhely, Hungary, Kovács knew that Princeton was a great academic school. When he started to follow the Tigers men’s water polo team, he saw a program ready to reach a new standard.

“It became very clear very soon that this was going to be a dream choice,” said Kovács.

The sophomore goalie felt lucky that Princeton showed so much interest in him, and now it’s the Tigers who feel lucky he’s playing for them. He has fit in well for the Tigers, who are poised to try again for a big breakthrough in the NCAA tournament. Princeton lost 17-13 to UCLA in the NCAA semifinals last year, making its first trip to the final four since the national tournament was expanded in 2015. The Tigers have never reached the championship game, but are hoping to under head coach Dusty Litvak this year. It was one of the selling points that helped bring in Kovács.

“He made it clear what his goals were and what he’s aiming for,” said Kovács. “I was all for it because I love getting challenged and I love the challenge.”

The fifth-seeded Tigers will open their fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance at fourth-seeded and host Stanford in the quarterfinals Friday at the Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, Calif. The semifinals are slated for Saturday with the championship game scheduled for Sunday, and the Tigers head west with a mix of confidence and prudence.

“This is a very difficult path,” said Litvak. “It’s very realistically possible that if we are to get to Sunday, if we get through Friday and Saturday which is obviously not guaranteed by any means, but if we are to, we may have to play three MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) teams.”

A win Friday would put them up against UCLA or Salem (W.Va.) in the semifinals. The other side of the bracket features USC and California Baptist, and Fordham and Long Beach State.

“To think about an East Coast team going west, playing three, not just California schools, but three MPSF teams and coming away with three victories, that’s tough,” said Litvak, referring to MPSF members Stanford, UCLA, and USC. “I think there’s part of us that relishes in the fact that if there’s anybody that’s going to do it, I think we have a group to do it. And not just because of the talent we have, but because of how battle tested we are and how experienced we are.”

Kovács is still young, but has high-end international experience and came on strong in his first season with Princeton last year to post a 14-4 record with 203 saves at a .594 save clip while sharing time in goal with West Temkin.

Temkin transferred before this year — to Stanford, so they’ll see each other on opposite ends Friday — and Kovács has been record-setting in goal for the Tigers. He was named Most Valuable Player after saving 20 shots in a 17-6 win over Brown as Princeton captured its fourth straight Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Tournament title on November 24. Those saves gave him a Princeton single-season record of 316 to go with a .521 save percentage.

“I thought I was a bit inconsistent at the beginning of the season, but as we went through the season we played a lot of games and I was gaining my confidence,” said Kovács. “I feel like I’m peaking now. I’m very excited to see what I am capable of. Obviously, the save record doesn’t mean anything because we played a lot of games and we have a really good team. The defense made my job so much easier. I feel like I’ve upped myself so far, and I feel like this is the moment where I’m most confident throughout the season.”

Kovács and Princeton have been tested plenty already through a 23-8 season. They lost by a goal to Pacific, lost in overtime to NCAA No. 1 seed UCLA, lost to Cal but avenged that loss later in the year, lost to unbeaten Fordham, lost to Harvard in overtime but avenged that loss later in the year, lost to UCLA again by two goals in their second meeting, lost to USC, and lost to Pacific for a second time by a single goal.

“We had so many games against top five, top 10 opponents that were all close,” said Litvak. “Whether we won or lost, we were in every game. Most of those we were within two goals. So I think we’re pretty tested and I think that helps build kind of that confidence that we really can compete with everybody.”

Princeton has not lost since dropping a second tight game against Pacific on October 18. The Tigers stormed through the rest of the regular season and then won their fourth straight NWPC. They beat Brown in the final, not Harvard whom they anticipated having a grudge match against for the title. They won both NWPC Tournament games by 11 goals apiece, stopping Iona, 22-11, in the semifinals before rolling by Brown, 17-6, for their crown with Kovacs playing exceptionally in goal.

“His energy is infectious,” said Litvak of Kovacs. “He’s such a competitor. He works so hard. He loves the sport, he loves the team. His abilities are fun to watch. But it’s more just the person he is, his energy, his attitude, how much he cares for his teammates again. How competitive he is really is a driving force behind our entire team.”

Kovács is looking forward to another chance at the NCAA tournament and the opportunity to be a part of history.

“We are obviously all excited because we see huge potential,” said Kovács. “We are excited to see what we’re capable of. And personally I feel confident that we’re going to do great because we practice really hard and we had a great weekend at the NWPC tournament. I was very satisfied how the team played and reacted. I feel confident. I have a lot of trust in myself and the team. It’s going to be a fun weekend for sure.”

One of the reasons that the Tigers have more confidence this year is that they have the sort of talent in numbers that a team needs in order to make an NCAA run. Princeton has been adding talent each year to position itself for its ultimate goal.

“In the past we’ve had some talent up front that can compete with the West Coast teams, but to sustain it even just through one game with the amount of depth those teams have and then to think about getting through three games, three days in a row against teams like that, it just takes a tremendous amount of depth,” said Litvak. “I think we’re way deeper this year than we have been. We have a lot of guys that can play and not a lot of drop off at really every position.”

One area that they don’t have depth is with goalie. Kovács is the only goalie listed on the Princeton roster. Will Garlinghouse has filled in for 26 minutes this year. Kovács has played the other 956.
“It’s definitely exhausting both in practice and games because I have to be in the water 24/7 basically,” said Kovács. “It’s definitely challenging, but at the end it’s going to be beneficial physically and mentally. Because I’ve practiced a lot, it’s going to be a benefit for me and for the team because I’ve gotten used to the huge amount of reps that I’ve taken and it’s definitely going to help when we’re playing the fourth quarter and we’re playing the second or third game of the weekend.”

In its NCAA opener, Princeton will be the more experienced of the teams despite Stanford’s pedigree. The Tigers have 10 seniors who have made three prior trips to the NCAAs while Stanford hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2020 (Princeton did not have a season that year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic).

“Obviously we’ve prepared a lot for Stanford’s plays,” said Kovács. “But the key is to focus on ourselves and on our play. I think we can put up a fight against anyone if we play the right way. The main thing is to focus on ourselves and believe that we can beat anyone.”