After high school, many successful young swimmers sometimes yearn for a chance to excel at a water sport that's more than just racing down pool lanes against other individuals -- maybe a sport that has a pair of nets, a ball and demands plenty of teamwork. For the former swimmers of Virginia's men's and women's water polo teams, the game of water polo has given them that opportunity.
"I was a swimmer back in Northern Virginia," men's water polo president Steve Tongelidis said. "We did some water polo on the side. I had a taste of it up there. When I came here, I knew it was something I wanted to pursue."
Many members of Virginia's two water polo teams swam competitively in high school.
"Each class we usually bring in about five or six guys," Tongelidis said. "One or two are completely new. We show them some videos, run some plays on offense and defense. It takes about a couple of months before they're comfortable."
The game is far more than just mental, however. With all the dirty work happening below the waterline, a skilled polo player needs a pair of legs that refuse to tire.
"For the first-time player, it's a lot of back and forth," Tongelidis said. "It's a lot of leg work. You're treading for about an hour. You have to be physically strong. A lot of the stuff that goes on below the waters never get called -- punching and kicking."
In 2003, Tongelidis and the men's water polo team earned a ticket to nationals after dominating their Atlantic Conference.
"Nationals was amazing," Tongelidis said. "It was one of the best college experiences of my life. There was a guy playing from the Canadian national water polo team. It was a great experience. They're definitely a step up, and you learn so much."
This year, the team missed out on nationals, finishing third in its conference.
"We were very pleased with how we did this fall," Tongelidis said. "UNC was added to the conference. They added some graduate students from Stanford, and water polo is really popular in the west."
Tongelidis said the women's crew has traditionally achieved more and usually gets more recognition than the men's squad. Some of the success can be attributed to the dedication and time put in by the two coaches, Hunter Cloud and Ian Polini.
"They'll go to our tournaments if they aren't working," women's water polo president Jennifer Austin said. "They're good teachers of the game. When we're in the water, you can't really hear much, so we need our coaches to handle the substitutions and other little things."
The women's team has its main season in the spring. Last year, the Cavalier women barely missed out on nationals, losing a heartbreaker to U-Penn in double overtime of the conference championship.
Regardless of wins and losses recorded in the pool, or conference championships, the draw of water polo for the club sport players is the satisfaction of competing alongside a group of teammates.
"Swimming was so individual," Austin said. "I wanted to play a team sport, something where you play a game with your teammates beside you."
Read More
No. 6 women’s squash falls to No. 5 Stanford in first match of the new year
By Peter Kratz | 17 hours agoThe Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in conference play after their first clash with the Cardinal.
Katie Grimes posts historic debut as women’s swimming and diving annihilates Virginia Tech
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoGrimes broke out as a new superstar for Coach Todd DeSorbo's squad.
Women’s basketball displays stingy defense, but falls short versus No. 14 Duke
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers nearly conquered a ranked rival but could not generate consistent offense.
