Boys and Girls Varsity Water Polo (2023-2024)
By HENRY WISE ‘27
The boys’ varsity water polo team had an incredible season, with an amazing record of 12 wins and three losses, and ended up placing second at the NEPSAC tournament at the end of fall term. The team worked extremely hard for the entire fall term for this outcome, and were very proud of what their season ended up beholding for them.
Earlier in the season, senior Michael Yang was asked about the captains and what they mean to him, and he commented, “All three water polo captains are my close friends. I have been on varsity with Will all four years at Exeter, and Rosen and Gao since lower year,” Another statement by upper Leo Zhang earlier in the year also reflected on the captain’s efforts and performance, “They push us to our very best on the court and they push us very good off the court too ‘cause they’re great people.” Both of these teammates appreciated all the hard work their captains put into the team for them, knowing they were pushing everyone to be the best they could be.
While the team worked hard the entire season, it was also a fun environment for everyone. When asked about his favorite part of the season, upper Winston Wang commented, “I liked how out of the pool we were always goofing off but once we were all in the pooled everyone locked in” Even though the team was working hard in the pool every day, they also fostered a fun, nice environment for each member of the team to enjoy every day of the week.
When lower Mateo Sandhu was asked about what he is looking forward to for next season, he added, “This water polo season, I’m looking forward to strengthening our team dynamic and overall becoming closer as a team. I’m excited to continue improving our skills as we develop and continue to grow together” The team will work extremely hard next season in order to be even better than they were this past season.
This team was one of Exeter’s most successful for fall term sports, working hard every day in and out of the pool to get the job done. This team would not be where it was without everyone lifting each other up every day at practice and motivating each other to do their best. The whole team looks forward to another exciting season in 2024, where they hope to continue to grow and develop as a whole.
As for the girls’ water polo team, they had a very interesting 2024 season for many reasons. Although they have a record of one win and six losses, this season has served as an amazing opportunity for this team to continue to grow further, and with the large amount of people part of the team, they were able to learn so much from each other, and greatly improve by the time the end of the season came around.
Earlier in the season, Nataly Delcid commented, “This year, we definitely have a lot of new people on our team. I think that the captains have done a really excellent job allowing everyone, regardless of skill, to feel that they are equally part of the team and have the same expectations as everyone else. The traditions that they make for us really do keep us going. Overall, they make it a very social team.” The leadership of this fun and exciting team as the season had progressed further is one of the many reasons why they happened to be so successful in their efforts of improvement throughout the season.
When head coach Meg Blitzshaw was asked about how the team has improved over the course of the season, she added, “The team has worked hard on numerous aspects of the game. Given that so many members of the team start their water polo careers here at Exeter, we lack experience and the only way to gain experience is to be in the water playing games and in game situations. It’s been especially wonderful to see the team camaraderie come together this season – the athletes who have been on the team before have really worked hard to get to know new teammates and welcome them in.” The team’s valiant efforts put in by both new and returning players has launched the team into gear and increased all of their abilities to play in the pool
When upper Sophie Phelps was asked about what the team is looking forward to for next season, she commented, “Next season we are really looking forward to actually utilizing the plays that we came up with towards the second half of our season. I’d like to give a huge shout out to Bella Bueno for catching onto being goalie so fast. She’s saved the team in a number of games.” The team will work hard every day until the end of the season in order to continue to grow as a team.
With the season coming to a close, the girls have their last league game on Saturday, May 11, and they all will look forward to returning for next season, continuing to build this team one step at a time.
