Get Big

On the weekend of October 23-24, the Men in Red made the trip up I-91 to Middlebury, VT for the annual New England Division chapmionship tournament. Playing with a new playoff format following the league’s contraction down to six teams this year from last year’s eight, the Cardinals as the fourth seed were placed in the “A-Bracket” alongside first-seed Yale and fifth-seed Middlebury. Saturday would consist of an in-bracket round robin in which each team would face each other once, with the first- and second-place teams earning berths to the semifinals.

Wesleyan challenged hosts Middlebury on Saturday afternoon for their first match of the weekend. Following Middlebury’s loss that morning to Yale, Cardinals had the opportunity to secure a spot at the Division III Nationals with a victory. However, the Panthers had other plans. Midd played with discipline and consistency, keeping the typically high-scoring Cards in check with a stellar effort on defense aided in no small part by a strong performance from goalie Ben Weinberg ’12. Anticipation on turnovers led to several goals from fast breaks in the first quarter from which the home team would never look back en route to a 9-4 win.

Wesleyan’s next match came two hours later against the top-seeded Yale squad. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead while the Cardinals still struggled to hit their stride on offense. However, while the Cards were generally overpowered by a much bigger Yale squad, they refused to capitulate. Wes Fantini ’13 netted a few impressive goals from offensive hole set, and Adam Rashkoff ’13 played a strong game between the pipes. In spite of a final score of 15-6 Yale, the mood was high for the Men in Red at the end of the match, who knew they’d exhibited a spirited effort against a worthy opponent.

Wesleyan returned to the Middlebury pool for a final time on Sunday morning to challenge Williams in the consolation match. The Cards began things by giving themselves a quick cushion in the first quarter which they maintained for a 17-13 victory, their third win on the year over the Ephmen.

With two tournaments under their belt, WesPolo currently stands at 4th in CWPA’s New England Division and 1st among the league’s NESCAC competitors with an overall record of 3-5.

During the weekend of September 25-26, the Cardinals traveled to Boston University to start things off. On Saturday they opened with a convincing 19-9 win versus Little Three rival Williams, and played close match against Dartmouth before the Big Green ran away with things in the fourth quarter en route to a 17-13 victory. On Sunday the Cards lost a back-and-forth battle to Boston University by a score of 16-14 before trouncing Middlebury 19-10. Wes Fantini, Thomas Cho, Brendan Fortin, Michael Bailey, and Max Ginsberg exhibited stellar performances, while rookies Justin Yoshimaru ’14, James Forde ’14, and Nick Drohan (grad.) all clocked playing time. Spirits were high at the end of the weekend, as the team had played with conviction and put themselves at the helm of the Division III schools within the New England Division with wins over Williams and Middlebury.

Two weeks later, Wesleyan traveled to Williams for New England’s midseason tournament. While the Cardinals exhibited moments of brilliance, the story of the weekend was ultimately the team’s lack of discipline and cohesion. The Cards played close first halves against Yale and Dartmouth, first- and second-place teams respectively, only to see things unravel. As the Bulldogs and the Big Green tweaked their offenses, Wesleyan’s defense faltered and failed to recover until too late as both matches turned into routs with Yale winning 16-8 and Dartmouth winning 18-5. The Redbirds were also edged yet again by a margin of 2 versus BU, losing by a score of 15-13. Wesleyan ended the tournament with what was by all accounts a sloppy match against Williams, but still managed to gun their way to a 23-15 victory over their Little Three rival for a degree of consolation.

Next up for Wesleyan is the New England Championship at Middlebury on the weekend of October 23-24. The team’s first game will be held Saturday at 1:30 against host Middlebury, and will likely determine which of the two teams earns an invitation to D-III Nationals, to be held at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota over November 6-7.

The Fall 2010 season is now officially underway, with the Cardinals returning to campus on September 1. While the talent and leadership of last year’s seniors will undoubtedly be missed, Wesleyan welcomes three new faces – James Forde ’14, Justin Yoshimaru ’14, as well as graduate student Nick Drohan (Binghampton ’09). Micah “Cheese” Siegel-Wallace ’10 is back as head coach, marking the first time since 2007 that the position has been filled. Player coaches Michael Bailey and Momo Saleh look to provide fiery leadership in the water to complement Cheese’s unsurpassed tactical prowess on land. Stay tuned as the Cardinals travel to league tournaments at Boston University, Williams, and Middlebury this season.

This Saturday morning, WesPolo takes on its faithful alumni in what is sure to be a match for the ages. Start time at 10am, with a photo op and reception to follow.

In a recent fan poll on the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s website, Wesleyan Men’s Water Polo was voted Collegiate Club Division III team of the decade. Check out the full story in the Wesleyan Connection.

This Halloween weekend, the men of WesPolo journeyed up to Middlebury for the New England Division championship. Read the full story along with the 2009 season recap at the Wesleyan Argus.