Anyone who knows me well knows that as the years have gone by, my visits to the Eppley Recreation Center have become few and far between. During a very rare trip to that awful building the other day, I happened to pass by the pool, and I couldn’t help but notice some crazy goings-on.  The Terrapin women’s water polo team was busy practicing, and as I stood there staring down at the pool — not realizing how creepy I must have looked — I began to garner a tremendous respect for what they do. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity to make these brave ladies my Underdog(s) of the Week. Now, my lower body athletic prowess is roughly equal to FDR’s, but even those of you who do have muscles in your legs have to give it up for these women.  I’m no water polo connoisseur, but from what I gather the game is somewhat of a cross between hockey and basketball, only the whole game is played in six-plus feet of water. Have you ever tried treading water for more than 30 minutes? It sucks.  Add to that having to swim the length of a 30-meter pool, positioning yourself for passes, throwing and catching a ball with only one hand and then still having the strength and coordination to sling that little bitch past a goalie who is just as crazy-athletic as you.  Honestly, steroids should be mandatory in this sport because I see no other way for it to be possible. Now, my adoration is nice and all, but the reason I place these women in the elite ranks of the underdogs is no one gives them the credit they deserve. These girls could easily have chosen soccer or basketball or even just stuck to swimming, but they pushed themselves to play a sport that most people don’t even realize exists — I think that’s damn cool.  On top of that, these girls are preserving what is actually the oldest Olympic team sport, so in my book they are doing a service to the world. We’re a big university, so it’s only natural for students here to flock toward the “big two” sports (maybe three if you count lacrosse, which I don’t).  But even the general populous has begun to realize the Terrapins are talented in a lot more fields.  We all know the soccer team can play, our girls’ basketball is perennially respected — hell, even the field hockey team gets some love from the student body.  Isn’t it time we branch out and open our arms to the outright athletic acumen our water polo superwomen possess?  And why stop there?  Shout out to the diving team, and in the spirit of the Australian Open, let’s give props to the tennis players.  Gymnasts, pole vaulters, shot putters, whatever.  You guys all deserve to have your stories told for having the tenacity most of us lazy bastards simply don’t possess. So College Park, when North Carolina’s basketball team comes to town on Sunday, I’ll see you all at Comcast Center, but do me and the water polo girls a solid and keep them on your radar, too. Mike DiMarco is a senior English major. He can be reached at dimarco at umdbk dot com.