Eagles end losing streak in style with overtime win

The Concordia Courier

Coach Dreason Barry (left) with seniors Andrew Dimino (center) and Christian Bowley 

By Jenna Hoffman | 11/19/2021

The men’s water polo team ended their two game losing streak on their senior day at their home pool. 

This season has been a tough one for the men's water polo team. In the last seven games, the team has lost four games. As the season was coming to an end, the team needed a win and they got a tough win against Fresno Pacific in overtime. “The game was very intense so coming out with a win on senior day felt amazing,” said senior Christian Bowley.

The win on senior day meant a lot for all the players and especially for the seniors. Bowley said, “That win felt very important to me especially because that was my last home game ever, and playing all four years at Concordia made that even more important to me.” 

Sophomore Connor McElwee said, “The win for our senior day was an incredible experience, it was a super close game and went into double overtime.” 

After four years of playing for Concordia, Bowley had some advice to say for the younger players. “Some advice I would give to the freshmen and sophomores would be to enjoy it while it lasts and always be looking for ways to improve both yourself and those around you,” said Bowley. 

This year’s water polo team is considered a young team. The team consists of eight freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors and four seniors. The departure of the four seniors after this season will leave a lasting impression on the younger players. During the season, the team was able to spend a lot of time together and bond with each other.

“The seniors are super supportive and help us get better by explaining how we can be better in the sport. The team has bonded by spending much time at tournaments, games, practices and on weekends,” said McElwee. 

Freshman Dawson Brummett also emphasized the team bond this year, “Even though we are a new team we bonded very quickly and have an amazing team atmosphere and I can only see us becoming closer.”

Although the season is about to close, the team still has a strong goal in mind. “For the rest of the season we are focusing on securing a couple of more wins against Biola and Fresno in our final tournament of the season,” said Bowley.

The future of the water polo team looks strong. After the departure of the seniors, the team will be championed by young players. They will have time to work together and improve their game. By their senior year, these young players will dominate their conference. “I believe we have the potential to be way better and move up a few seatings next year and the years to come,” said Brummett. 

The water polo team is heading to UC San Diego on Fri., Nov. 19 to play in their final tournament of the season. To show support to the seniors of the water polo team on their last tournament of their collegiate career visit their Instagram page @cui_waterpolo. You can also support them by watching their tournament live through cuieagles.com. 

Tags: water polo, Men's Athletics, game


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