Club Corner

CAYTE PUSHKAREVA/YH The men's water polo team will look to make its first appearance at Nationals this year.

The year is off to an auspicious start. Even though the team is suffering from the loss of three perimeter players, as well as player-coach Trevor Hawkins, DC '99, it has picked up some strong freshmen. An intensive 10-day training session in Toronto with former Canadian Olympic coach and ex-Olympian George Gross, SM '72, has also improved the depth of the bench, pushing players like Ben Drapkin, DC '00, and Sean Nuttall, TD '01, to make a serious contribution in the water. The grueling 10 days of conditioning provided the team with a strong foundation of fundamental skills, leaving them free to work more extensively on complex offensive and defensive systems.

The team will test the effectiveness of its new strategies on Sat., Sept. 18 when it faces Wesleyan, Trinity and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in a preliminary New England tournament. Even though these are three of the weaker teams in Yale's division, the competition will nevertheless help the formidable Elis to get a feel for working together as a team. The Elis will also use this opportunity to incorporate some new players into the lineup, in preparation for bigger games this year against rivals Dartmouth and Williams. Unfortunately, since Princeton, Brown and Har-vard all boast varsity water polo programs, the Elis will be unable to prove their superiority to the entire Ivy League.

This year's talented Yale squad is led by player-coach Josh Blum, SM '00, and two-time All-New England whole-set captain Chris Kelly, MC '00, and All-California high-school players Keith Feldman, BR '00, and Xander Dean, DC '02. "Dean may have shorn his beard, but his devastating outside shot has not suffered for it," Matthew O'Neill, DC '00, said. "With the right amount of determination and continued dedication, this team could take it to nationals as we almost did last year."

The players dedicate an enormous amount of time to the team, despite its club status. Although the team lost varsity status in the 1991 Title IX rulings, players practice two hours each day and often attend Saturday sessions. Although the players hope to someday regain their varsity stature, which would give the team a full-time paid coach, the team is highly satisfied with the leadership of player-coach Blum in his Pete Rose-esque role.

—Yael Zeira

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