By Bella Whitmore | Intern
Besides occasionally watching a few matches during the Summer Olympics, the general public typically doesn’t know a whole lot about the sport of water polo. However, the Baylor club water polo team has made a name for itself this year and is competing at the same level as many upper-level coastal schools.
From the Waco YMCA to the collegiate water polo championship in Utah, the Baylor club water polo team is blazing trails and pushing boundaries not only for the team but for Baylor as a whole.
After an impeccable 11-0 regular season and setting school records, the squad is heading to Utah for a national collegiate championship tournament. San Jose, Calif., senior and team captain Jackson Roth commented on how it feels being Baylor’s first club water polo team to make it to the national tournament.
“It feels incredible,” Roth said. “This being the culmination of two years of hard work and finally seeing the fruits of our labor pay off is indescribable. Baylor has never won the Texas regional tournament in order to receive a bid to the nationals before this, so we are thrilled to represent our team on the national stage.”
This year’s team stands out among the rest in Baylor’s history — and not just because of its success. The group has a special passion and unity that other teams lacked, according to Orange County, Calif., junior Cole Harvey.
“The team has a great chemistry together,” Harvey said. “We have shown amazing determination and grit during both practice and competition.”
Roth said this year’s team’s special qualities are going to be the deciding factor when it comes to future matches where the odds may be stacked against them.
“From the first day we got in the water, this team believed that we could win it all and trusted each other enough to play each day knowing that anyone on this team could be a difference maker on any given day,” Roth said.
The Baylor team is also set apart by its adaptation when missing the resources available to larger schools. The team has practice three days a week at the Waco YMCA and a significant lack of funding for resources, hospitality and transportation. However, the squad has not let this affect the name it has set for itself.
“We are the only team that does not have a coach or a multimillion-dollar facility and have the least amount of players out of any team,” Harvey said. “Despite all these external circumstances, we were able to outwork teams and win in big moments.”
As it goes into the national championship at the University of Utah this weekend, the Baylor club water polo team is preparing for a tough test against No. 5-seed University of Southern California. Baylor is the underdog, but this team has a track record for overcoming difficult challenges and defying the odds.
“Two years ago, Baylor’s water polo team finished second to last in the Texas division,” Roth said. “This year, we finished with a perfect season, including beating UT in the final, who has won the division for the past five years. This team broke down a dynasty and looks to begin one of our own.”
