Having a season record of 19-5 is an accomplishment for any team, especially for the men’s water polo team.

“We have a better team this year. We are a year older with a lot of key players, so we have matured a lot in that way,” Coach Curtis Robinette said.
With an addition of five new freshmen, the Lakers are looking to mature more with key young players. The captains leading the team to such a successful season are junior Matt Cote and senior Josh Rodriquez.

With some significant transfers on the team, and some maturing players, the Lakers are really stepping up their game, trying to take it all the way to the Eastern Championships in Princeton, New Jersey over Thanksgiving break.

“We have a lot of key players on the team, everyone really does their part. But some of the players that have been sticking out this year as being key contributors are transfer juniors Garret Schoeman, Isaac Ogloblin and Brett Luehmann,” Robinette said.

With their two wins this past weekend at the Division II Eastern Championships against Salem International University, 19-14 and Gannon University, 18-5, the Lakers are positive they will be able to reach their goal of the Eastern Championships.

“Our goal from day one was to go all the way. With a record of 15-10 last year, we were looking to really make a name for ourselves, and we’re looking forward to the season with a mature team,” Robinette said.

With the CWPA Southern Championships this weekend in Bucknell, Pa., the Lakers are looking to keep their seven game win-streak alive, and earn a spot against the competition.

“What makes us really unique is the fact that we have such a geographic diverse roster, with three different international students. We don’t just play Division II schools. Everyone plays everyone, mostly because water polo is such a rare sport to play,” said Robinette. “We play a lot of Division I schools such as Harvard University. Our best game so far would have to be against Harvard. We were down by two and won in regulation, 3-0, in the last two minutes. That was a big accomplishment because we had lost to them previously in the season.”

The Lakers look forward to competing in the Division II Eastern Championships, and testing their strength as a team.
“This year is a great year for our team. We really have rounded out a lot of the edges,” Robinette said.

The Lakers next game is Friday, Nov. 2, against John Hopkins University at Bucknell, Pa.