By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor
BROOKLYN, NY. Northeast Water Polo Conference—boasting #7 Harvard and #12 Princeton, the two highest ranked teams in the East—began conference play last week, again revealing the appeal and idiosyncrasies of the sport on this coast. Swimming World was on hand for all the matches recently played at St. Francis Brooklyn, including wins by the Terriers over Iona, Brown, MIT and the Tigers.
With one of the smaller pools in NCAA varsity water polo, The Pope Athletic Center is a consistently inhospitable destination for opponents. Harvard Head Coach Ted Minnis—whose Crimson recently escaped from Brooklyn Heights with a win—recently called the cacophonous environs “the loudest place to play;” it should come a little surprise that the Terriers boast a 41-10 record at home over the past decade.
Interviews with Harvard’s Minnis, Brown Head Coach Felix Mercado, MIT new Head Coach Bret Lathrope and Princeton’s Head Coach Dustin Litvack—also new this season—provide insights about what makes Eastern polo distinctive, thoughts about how their respective teams will fare in NWPC play this season, and the impact of revised rule interpretations on NCAA competition.
Harvard Coach Minnis spoke before his Crimson beat the Terriers 15-14 on Saturday, September 29, just Harvard’s second win in Brooklyn Heights in 13 appearances. The link for that conversation is: here.
Senior Night in Brooklyn Heights: Carl Quigley, Botond Kadar, Jonas Veazey, Oggi Antanaskovic, Nikita Prohkin, Bogdan Kostic, Bora Dimitrov. Photo Courtesy: Joseph Gomez
After a contentious loss to St. Francis, where his team squandered a comeback from four goals down late in the third period, Brown Coach Mercado and Bear junior Armen Deirmenjian spoke on the St. Francis pool deck about their season. The link for that conversation is: here.
A day after a 12-9 loss to St. Francis on Sunday, September 30, where seven straight Terrier scores turned a two-goal deficit into an 10-5 lead, MIT Coach Lathrope spoke about an upturn in Engineer polo fortunes. The link for that conversation is: here.
His team having been blitzed by St. Francis and its pugnacious fans last Wednesday, Princeton Coach Litvak spoke about his first-ever visit to Brooklyn Heights. The link for that conversation is: here.