Season Recap: Water Polo

Starting out the season with barely enough players, the women’s water polo team played solidly and came together to give a formidable performance in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The team ended the season with an 8-4 record and came in fourth in the MAAC championship tournament.

“We still had a successful season,” freshman Anne Stype said. “We all worked really hard and improved a lot from the beginning of the season.”

The Wildcats did extremely well, considering most of the other teams in the MAAC had a lot more players.

“At the beginning of the semester one of the biggest problems was having enough girls to be able to remain competitive in the MAAC, and we did face a few strong teams this season that have a lot more depth than us,” Stype said. “Since our team didn’t have as many subs, we had to train harder so that our players would be able to play entire games without getting tired.”

Two seniors returned to play this year after not playing since their freshman and sophomore years, and four players walked on to the team in February. However, even with these six extra players, the team did not have as many subs as the teams they competed against. Also, new players can affect team chemistry in both negative and positive ways, but the Wildcats pulled together and were successful this spring.

“Our team has really grown together over the course of the season,” Stype said. “We all enjoy hanging out with each other. Even us new girls have gotten to know the other girls really well, and it’s been a lot of fun becoming part of the team.”

The Wildcats had a few injuries in the beginning of the season, but by the time they got to conference play, almost everyone was able to play.

Despite a rocky start, the water polo team ended the season on a positive note. They were pleased to get to the MAAC championship tournament and ended up placing fourth, losing to Marist and Iona.