The men’s water polo team is underway with their third season in program history. With an on and off weekend in California, the Vikings advance to a 5-5 record, still with more time to improve before the end of the season. The team has played some of the top division III schools in the country, going 2-3 this past weekend.
“I think that the California tournament was a big wake up call and actually shows that we can achieve big things this season,” First-Year James Davis said. “And then from that moment onwards, I think that it’s just a big building block to hopefully achieve our goals at the end of the season.”
Competing in California only showcased the Vikings ability to compete with higher ranked teams and what they could accomplish during the rest of the 2023 season based on their current skills.
“We could have beaten two of the top teams,” said Fifth-Year Joseph Addison. “Now, we can come back and say okay, we didn’t beat them, but we know we have the talent to play with anyone, especially the number one ranked team.”
Every day the team is getting better and improving even more by training in the mental and physical aspect of the game.
“In training, we try to practice how we play,” sophomore Captain Declan Hutton said. “We try to do the best that we can in training.”
The team has been incorporating a lot more fitness into their practices so that they can be physically fit for the teams that they compete against. Each practice is particularly planned out based on what they need to improve upon as a whole.
“There will be two or three main aspects in each training,” Davis said. “The teams are changed the whole time to be able to build chemistry with each player to try new things.”
The Vikings are making great strides to improve and to defend their conference title and, even more so, to win a national championship. Augustana will be hosting the United States division III national championship tournament in early December.
A conference title last season comes with some pressure to defend it.
“There is always pressure that comes with winning something in previous years and trying to win the game,” Hutton said. “We are all just keen to get out and play.”
The Vikings also have not lost any seniors within the past three years. Other teams have lost key players, while Augustana has not. Addison would have been the only senior that the team would have lost, but he decided to use his remaining NCAA eligibility to participate in the program for one more season.
“It’s been awesome because the very first season, I was the only player with previous varsity experience,” Addison said. “Just seeing how we’ve basically gotten exponentially better every season has been pretty cool to watch.”
Being able to build up the team, including the new incoming players, has only made this team stronger in play.
“Our team has only gotten stronger,” Hutton said. “We haven’t lost anyone. It’s only up from here.”
