Water polo: noun; a seven-a-side game played by swimmers in a pool, with a ball like a volleyball that is thrown into the opponent’s net. This is the Webster’s definition of a sport that it is unknown to many, yet has grown rapidly over the past two decades at Georgetown. Started in 1993 by two freshmen from California, the men’s club water polo team has done nothing but expand since.

“In six years, the team went from just two friends to winning our division,” Head Coach Rich Storey said, who graduated from Georgetown in 2003 after playing on the team for four years. Storey went on to serve in the Navy for five years before returning to Georgetown to get his Masters, upon which he took up coaching the team. This is his third year.

“Usually we find people who played in high school and get them out to play for the team,” Storey said. “We currently have players from all over the country.”

In 2001, the team was officially recognized as a club sport. While there are some Division I collegiate teams at schools, most colleges have gravitated toward just fielding a club team. Georgetown currently competes in the Collegiate Water Polo Association, and more specifically in the Atlantic Division, which is made up of mostly ACC teams including Duke, Maryland, North Carolina State and University of Virginia.

However, the Hoyas’ eyes are currently set on their biggest rival, Virginia Tech. Last year, the Hoyas were edged out by the Hokies in the division championship game by only a goal. Virginia Tech then moved on to nationals. But after returning the whole team from last year, the team has yet to lose a game this year through three tournaments, compiling an 11-0 record. Georgetown has traveled to St. Mary’s (Maryland), James Madison and Villanova so far, with only the division tournament awaiting them this weekend in Blacksburg. The team goes in as the No. 1 seed, and in all likelihood there will be another Hoya-Hokie matchup in the finals.

“Last year we just wanted to do well in the division,” Storey said. “This year, the division isn’t enough. We want to go to nationals.”

In reality, the sport requires much more than the simple Webster’s definition. Water polo is an incredibly physical game requiring a great amount of endurance. As many people may know, treading water for extended periods of time is not an easy thing to do. Well, try doing it while frequently swimming up and down a pool, not being allowed to touch the bottom even once. That’s not even mentioning the dirty nature of the sport. Grabbing and even clawing at opponents is common and frequently goes unnoticed by referees. Players often emerge from the pool with scratches, bloody noses and black eyes.

“It definitely takes it out of you,” senior and team co-captain Tim Ebenhardt said. “Refs can only see what goes on above water. You’ve definitely got to keep your cool.”

Ebenhardt and fellow senior Matt Middleton are the two captains of the squad.

“Matt leads by example, and Tim is a great motivator in and out of the pool,” Storey said. The third senior on the team is Simon Crocker, who Storey describes as a great energizer to the team.

While Ebenhardt, Middleton and Crocker are the only three seniors on the team, they are not the oldest. Graduate student Steve Ward is currently in his fifth year with the team. Storey cites him as one of the most consistent and strongest players on the squad, often playing the majority of the game.

As far as the Hoyas’ strategy goes, Storey says that it’s all about the defense.

“We’re never the biggest team in the water. We’re never normally the best offensively. But we’re built around our defense,” Storey said. “Defense wins championships and tires out the opponent. That’s the way it’s been since ’93.”

And of course a solid defense is always built around a solid goalie. Luckily for the Hoyas, they have sophomore Luke Crihfield. As a freshman, Crihfield was named all-division, and is now deservedly thought to be the best goalie in the division.

“The goalie is the backbone of a water polo team,” Storey said.

The team practices three to four times a week during the season, usually in the Yates diving pool. However, in order to get practice in a full pool (one in which both ends are deep and the length of the pool is about 30 meters), the team goes to a facility in Northern Virginia once a week. Also at the facility, they get the chance to scrimmage against a team of ex-division players, all of them above 25-years-old.

“Those guys are bigger and stronger than us, but they toughen up the team because they play dirty,” Ebenhardt said.

Strength and endurance are essential to players’ survival and success in this intensely physical sport. Shoulder injuries are amongst the most common of injuries.

“It works everything. Water polo works every muscle in your body,” junior driver Matt Spitzer said. “It’s great. It’s by far the best workout I’ve ever found. It’s harder than anything. It’s a long duration – we play [four] eight-minute quarters, and the clock stops for every foul. It’s very dynamic, you’re always moving, cutting in and out, treading water. It’s really intense. Whenever you’re swimming, you’re sprinting.”

In water polo, there aren’t really any set positions besides goalie. But the Hoyas run the common and widely used “umbrella offense.” In this offense, five players arc around the goal with one player in the middle, referred to as the “hole.” The biggest guy on the team generally occupies this spot, with other players generally being the faster and more elusive players. The two that play on the bottom of the arc are referred to as the “drivers,” and the other three as simply “shooters.”

Only having a few more tournaments scattered throughout the year after the fall season, the Hoyas will rest their hopes to extend the season on winning the division when they travel to Blacksburg this weekend. In all likelihood, they will come across a Virginia Tech team that they will be dying to get revenge on.

“We’ve earned the right to play in the championship,” Storey said. “We’ll give it our best shot and let the chips fall how they do.”

But no matter how the team does this weekend, their success this year serves as a testament to hard work and dedication. The water polo team shows that lack of press in no way leads to lack of effort. And through it all, the team remains a tight-knit group of players who go out there and have fun.

“Generally, we’re more experienced than other teams. Some other schools have more swimmers,” Spitzer said when describing the team’s strengths. “Two, we’re in better shape than most teams. Three, I think we work together as a team better than most. It’s difficult to win a game with one good player in water polo – it’s easy to defend one good player in water polo. We have a lot of guys capable of scoring.”