With fall sports in full swing, water polo returned to the Davidson Natatorium for the 2016 season. Often overshadowed by the other sports competing this season, water polo’s dominance and impressive statistics have gained them much recognition.
The team, led by Coach Kevin Kadzis, is currently on a three-game winning streak after a victory against Pace. Returning senior James Claffey, added in an exclamatory fashion that the Wolves are in fact undefeated. With a current record of 4-0, it appears that this season should be one for the books.
As the year has progressed, the water polo team has done a great job of getting the student body’s attention with Monday Morning Meeting announcements and videos. As most people know, water polo is a club sport at Wesleyan, but it is growing increasingly more popular. But what exactly is water polo? Coach Kadzis, James Claffey, and junior Grant Beaty all sat down for an interview to answer that question about the up and coming sport.
Water polo is definitely a sport like no other. Kadzis said, “[it is] an interesting game, it is a hybrid of soccer, basketball and lacrosse and it is wet.” Claffey refers to the sport as a “lifestyle.”
What makes water polo so special at Wesleyan though? Grant Beaty said, “There are not many sports that can come out and be as good as water polo. Name another sport that goes undefeated in every game and do not even practice.” “[We have] 100% raw natural talent,” Claffey added.
The perfect record of the team is produced by a culmination of things including team unity. Beaty said, “We [share a close] comradery, we train hard in the off season and we have always been able to work together because of our team chemistry.” Kadzis added that he believes this unity is what makes the team so special. As the season progresses, the Wolves hope to use this unity to continue their undefeated record. Claffey hopes he can use the duration of the season to “get some good footage to send to colleges.”
Water polo is growing in popularity because it produces tangible results, according to Beaty.
While the southeast still has a long way to go in order to catch up with the worldwide water polo leaders in eastern European nations, Coach Kadzis said “[he] foresees Wesleyan’s program continuing to offer quality opportunities to play water polo.”
