Water polo sinks Big Green Panthers dominate North Atlantic Division

Author: Geoffrey Homer

Hoping to continue its season long domination in the pool, the Middlebury men's water polo team competed last weekend in the North Atlantic Division Championships. Duplicating their season-long success, the Panthers conquered every team they faced in the pool, cumulating with an impressive defeat of arch-rival Dartmouth College in the championship game. With the win, the Panthers advance to Club Nationals with a 10-1 record for the season. The team will enter the tournament as the 12th seed, based on last year's results, and will take on Grand Valley State in its first game.

Bolstered by the return of Toshi Kido '08, who missed most of the season with a broken finger, the Panthers felt very confident in their chances entering the tournament. As Andrew Herzik '07 confirmed, "Having Toshi back really tipped the scales in our favor."

The first day saw the Panthers compete against hosts Bowdoin College and Boston College. The Panthers used their power and depth to send the Polar Bears to a crushing defeat in their own waters, as the men annihilated Bowdoin by a score of 15-2.

A very confident Middlebury squad continued its success later that afternoon by blowing past Boston College 12-5 with relative ease, setting the stage for the showdown with Dartmouth with the league championship at stake.

Firing on all cylinders, the Panther squad battled Dartmouth to the end, in what was a very intense and exciting match. The final score saw Middlebury reclaim their championship, defeating the Big Green 8-6.

Paced by Robbie Burton '08, who had a standout performance with three goals, the Panthers fought to the end and savored their victory, particularly because Dartmouth defeated them earlier in the year on Oct. 15.

According to Herzik, "It felt really good to avenge the home loss to Dartmouth earlier in the season." Middlebury has now won the last two North Atlantic Division Championships and appears to have a solid future.

The Panthers now have a few weeks off to recoup and savor their championship before traveling to Williams College for Club Nationals on Nov. 18-20.

The team will look to improve on its 12th place finish from a year ago and hopefully move up in the standings into the top 10.