#19 Brown Advances to Northern Division Championship Game

Nov. 4, 2007

Cambridge, MA - For the third consecutive season, the 19th-ranked Brown men's water polo team (19-8) will play #11 St. Francis for the Northern Division Championship. The Bears advanced to Sunday's championship game by defeating Queens, 18-3, and Harvard, 10-6, in the first two rounds of the tournament on Saturday at MIT. The wins also qualify the Bears for next weekend's Eastern Championship.

In the semifinals against Harvard, the Bears dominated the game defensively, holding the Crimson to just one goal in the first half and taking a 6-1 lead into halftime. Junior Hank Weintraub (Los Angeles, CA) keyed the defensive effort on the perimeter, with senior co-captain Gerrit Adams (Winnetka, IL) and junior Nico Fort (Miami, FL) picking up three and two steals apiece. Sophomore goalkeeper Kent Holland (Orinda, CA), who was absent from the Bears' regular-season win over the Crimson, handled the rest, making nine saves.

Offensively, junior Mike Gartner (San Jose, CA) led the way with his second three-goal performance of the day, adding three ejections. Weintraub, who had three assists, and junior Grant LeBeau (San Diego, CA) had two goals apiece, while Adams and freshmen Gordon Hood (Carlsbad, CA) and Corey Schwartz (Los Angeles, CA) all had one.

Earlier in the day, the Bears easily handled Queens. LeBeau led the way with four goals and five assists. Gartner and Adams both had three goals, with Gartner adding three assists. Weintraub had two goals, five assists, and two steals, while Hood matched him with two markers. Schwartz, junior Jerry Wolf Duff-Sellers (Malibu, CA), sophomore Zach Levko (Wildwood, MO), and freshman Brandon Yoshimura (Haverford, PA) had one goal apiece.

On Sunday, the Bears will get their second crack at St. Francis this season. Earlier in the year, the Terriers claimed a narrow 14-12 victory at home in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. The two teams have squared off for the Northern Division Championship for the past two years as well, with St. Francis winning 22-6 last season after edging the Bears out in a 9-7 win in 2005.

Sunday's contest will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Harvard 1 0 2 3 - 6
#19 Brown 3 3 2 2 - 10
Goals: Gartner 3, LeBeau 2, Weintraub 2, Adams, Hood, Schwartz
Saves: Holland 9

Queens 1 2 0 0 - 3
#19 Brown 4 4 5 5 - 18
Goals: LeBeau 4, Adams 3, Gartner 3, Hood 2, Weintraub 2, Duff-Sellers, Levko, Schwartz, Yoshimura
Saves: Holland 2