The Georgetown men’s club water polo team concluded its season this past weekend, placing third overall in the Atlantic Division. The Hoyas advanced from the first round after an 8-4 victory over Duke. In the second game, they were defeated by long-standing rival Richmond, 16-11; however, they regained their strength to down Virginia Tech, 17-6.

Heading into the tournament, the Hoyas were ranked 13th in the nation and tied for first in the Atlantic Division with No. 2 Richmond and No. 15 Washington & Lee. Due to a goal differential, Georgetown was seeded third and faced Duke in the first round.

The Hoyas handed the Blue Devils, and the best goalie in the Atlantic Division, a decisive defeat. Georgetown tallied eight goals, while holding Duke to only four, setting the tone for the Hoyas’ play during the tournament.

In Saturday’s homecoming matchup against Richmond, the Hoyas got off to a slow start. After the Spiders pulled ahead, junior player-coach Lee Conant netted two consecutive goals to keep the Georgetown on Richmond’s heels. Georgetown remained within one through the final quarter, but the Spiders pulled away to a 16-11 victory as well as a successful revenge, as they fell 13-12 to the Hoyas earlier in the season.

Other stellar play came from sophomore Marshall Spooner, who held last year’s league MVP scoreless throughout the first three quarters of the game. However, Richmond gained momentum and prevailed in the final quarter of the game to steal the win along with the Hoyas’ hopes of a trip to Seattle to compete at the national championship.

“The score doesn’t reflect how close of a game it really was,” Head Coach Sam Bakhshandehpour said. “It was a tie game throughout. It was the two best teams playing in the semifinals instead of the finals.”

Bakhshandehpour also commended Conant’s strong play throughout the weekend.

“Lee was phenomenal – he played out of his mind. I’ve never seen any player step up like that,” he said.

Georgetown attempted shot after shot against Richmond but could not put the ball in the goal. The Hoyas were further frustrated by their inability to capitalize on power plays. They continued to draw kickouts, but only converted on two of nine opportunities.

“There are three things that go into winning – conditioning, talent and luck. We had the first two, but the luck didn’t come our way against Richmond,” senior captain Nick Tallant said.

On Sunday, Georgetown overcame Virginia Tech, 17-6, but the game was not nearly as exciting as the matchup the night before. According to Bakhshandehpour, more fans showed up for the Georgetown-Richmond game than the championship match.

Although Georgetown was disappointed with the final standings, the team has much to look forward to in the future. “When the pain subsides from this loss, [the team] will see how successful this season was, and how important the platform it built for next season is,” Bakhshandehpour said.

Georgetown learned how to compete at the national level with its young squad, and it will return most of its well-rounded roster. Although the season has ended, the team will commence practice once again in a few weeks to prepare for invitationals at Maryland and Navy.