By Editor’s Note: The end is near! 2021 is almost in the books, so TWp is looking back on the five biggest story lines of the year. Today we focus on the joy of playing; after a rough start due to COVID-19 bans and outbreaks, the NCAA men played an abbreviated
On The Record with Tony Karaman: “It Was Tough But Water Polo Survived”
Despite being plagued by uncertainty, this year’s men’s varsity water polo season—which ended a week ago with Cal capturing a record 15th NCAA title thanks to a 13-12 win over USC in the 2021 title match—represented a much-needed return to normalcy. The uncertainty was due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,
2021 MPSF Invite Report: This WILL be a Great Season for Men’s Water Polo
Results are in from this year’s edition of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational—the annual early-season get together of the country’s best men’s collegiate water polo teams—and all indications are this will be a fantastic season for the sport. Which, given how the last 18 months have played out,
Five Questions with Ilija Duretic, St. Francis Brooklyn Men’s Water Polo
A match-up between St. Francis College Brooklyn and Stanford has often been a measuring stick for Terrier’s men’s water polo. At Princeton’s DeNunzio Pool Friday night, St. Francis will face one of the nation’s top teams with a new coach behind the bench. Ilija Duretic, who played for St. Francis
Five Questions with Ryan Pryor of Augustana Water Polo
This Saturday the fledgling Vikings men’s water polo team takes to the water against Penn State Behrend in Erie, Pennsylvania, the result more than a year of preparation by Head Coach Ryan Pryor and the Augustana athletic department. The launch of a new men’s and women’s program in Rock Island,
Talent-laden USC Begins ’21 Campaign MPSF, NCAA Favorites
Despite any protestations to the contrary, there’s no real parity in men’s college water polo. Over a half-century of NCAA championship play, only three programs outside the “Big Four” have won a national championship: UC Irvine (three times) Pepperdine (once) and UC Santa Barbara (once). Do the math: that’s less
Augustana Begins First MAWPC-West Season as Monmouth Departs
The most important water polo region in America—contrary to opinions out West—is located primarily in the middle of the country. If the ill-named Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-West can find a path to success, then there’s hope for polo to grow out of its small—and still precarious—footprint as a primarily West
GCC Coaches Favor Gauchos to Take Conference Title
When the University of California system chose to go remote for the entire 2020-21 academic year, the Golden Coast Conference was effectively sidelined for the fall 2020 season. GCC members Pepperdine and San Jose State did compete in an abbreviated 2020 season which ran earlier this year from January to
Five Questions with Fordham Head Coach Brian Bacharach
A ball drop at 9 a.m. in Harvard’s Blodgett Pool this past Saturday signaled collegiate water polo’s return to the Northeast following interruptions due to COVID-19. For Fordham men’s water polo, which during this period has seen a (mostly) revamped roster and a shifting of leadership, it was worth all
Five Questions with Alyssa Diacono, Mount St. Mary’s Head Coach
When Alyssa Diacono took the head men’s and women’s water polo job at Mount St. Mary’s in March 2020, she had no inkling that a global pandemic was about to halt all intercollegiate athletic competition in America less than two weeks later. Undeterred, the former standout for Carin Crawford at
By 
