Former members of the swimming and diving team joined club water polo after its team was cut in July to help balance the athletic budget. Team members wanted another competitive environment.
The Terrapins club water polo team now has a secret weapon that adds speed and strategy to their team: former varsity swimmers.
After university President Wallace Loh cut the men’s and women’s swim team, along with five other athletic programs, to balance the athletic department’s budget, many swimmers searched for a place to continue their love for water sports in a competitive environment.
Although former varsity swimmers could have joined club swimming, junior finance major Anderson Sloan said the differing skill levels between club and varsity deterred him.
“There’s a pretty fair gap between club swimming and varsity swimming,” he said. “I thought water polo would be more fun and I’d be able to still be competitive at it.”
Four other swim team members joined club water polo this year, even though most of them had almost no experience with the sport. But swimmers didn’t have to try out for the club, and instead had an easy path to joining a new team. And they have the entire season to hone their skills, as they’ll learn the game as the season progresses.
“We try to be a very open group,” said Dwight Townsend-Gray, the club’s vice president. “We always want to give the opportunity to join the team to anyone who wants to play.”
More experienced water polo players pass along tips and lessons on fundamental skills and rules during their four practices each week to help the swimmers adapt. Captains also plan scrimmages so swimmers can practice their skills in a competitive atmosphere without high stakes, Townsend-Gray said.
“There are a lot of people on the team that are willing to help us,” junior economics major Colin Stang, a former swimmer, said. “We have the swimming skills; we just need to learn the ball skills.”
Despite their rusty skills, veteran water polo teammates said swimmers give their team a new edge and dynamic and have amped up the team’s overall quickness and agility. Unlike in years past, the team doesn’t have to solely rely on players’ size and physicality, Townsend-Gray said.
And because one of the most important qualities in a water polo player is being able to swim quickly, club president Adam Neiss said the swimmers also have a thing or two to teach.
“The swimmers, of course, bring speed to the team,” he wrote in an email. “Sometimes, during our matches, it is our strategy to ‘swim’ the other team … to tire them out. The swimmers will be perfect for that.”
While some swimmers said they still prefer swimming over water polo, others said water polo has given them a new team to rely on.
“I really love water polo,” said Stang. “I like the game aspect of it; with swimming, I always knew what was happening, but with water polo, there are a lot more unexpected elements that come into play.”
The team had its first tournament last weekend, when it faced the U.S. Naval Academy team. It will have its next matches this weekend against Georgetown, the U.S. Naval Academy and James Madison.
