Volume CXXXIII, Number 3 September 21, 2001 f

In the pool with the men and women of water polo
ANN SMITH
Staff Writer

The Bowdoin Water Polo Team experienced a disappointing tournament cancellation at Holy Cross due to the events of September 11, but is now looking ahead to its first match of the season.

Senior Nate Kosub smacks down. (Karstan Moran, Bowdoin Orient)

As a club sport, water polo at Bowdoin is a North Atlantic Division III sport that participates in two day events throughout the fall. The team began practice during late August and will end their season in mid-October.

The club is also open to all interested in playing. In fact, the upperclassmen encourage all students to join, experience or not. "Most of our team has never played before," explained Nicole Goyett, the team's only experienced first year. "[We] start off really slow and work to improve people's areas of comfort."
Goyett, a native of Stockton, California, is a four-year water polo veteran, a rarity among underclassmen.

According to sophomore Todd Williams, the team caters to the sport's typical novices. "We have a great group of underclassmen who don't necessarily have the experience but have the enthusiasm," he said. "Mark my words, they'll be ready to go. They're chomping at the bit."

The team is coached by Burcay Grucant, originally from Turkey, who serves as both a mentor and advisor to the players. However, the team is mostly led by tri-captains John Clifford '02, Nate Kosub '02, and Dave Harden '03, who are working to improve the team's skills and game play.

"The captains are great," Williams said. "They bring a lot of experience and leadership skills."

"The team spirit is really high," added Goyett. "We're there to have fun."

The water polo squad has a big agenda this season, even beyond working with the wave of new players. After the loss of only one senior player from last year, the return of junior Matt Loosigian from the injury list, and the leadership of three All-Conference players (Kosub, Harden, and senior Dave Frank), this season will be a pivotal chance for the Bears to dominate the water.

Bitter and feisty after a loss to Bates last year, the Bears are eagerly waiting to face their archrival again. Going head to head in last year's North Atlantic Championship, the slippery suckers managed to steal the Division III title from Bowdoin.

"Our main goal is to take down Bates," Harden said. "[They] have an advantage over us because they have always had a big team, around 30 plus, while our team is around 20 people.

"Last season, they were the only ones we didn't beat, but we're going to take them down this year," he added.

The team will travel to backwoods Bates on September 29, and will also face WPI and big cheese Colby during the season.