Water polo's playoff hopes drowned The Natatorium hosts the North Atlantic Division Championships

Author: Geoff Homer

The Natatorium was busy this past weekend, and the bus was not here for a swimming and diving meet. Instead, the men's water polo team hosted the seven-team North Atlantic Division Championships and fans filled the building all day long.

The team's third place finish over the weekend and corresponding third place position in the final North Atlantic Division standings, means that the Panthers will not attend the National Championships, which they have attended the last two years.

This year's team has been inconsistent and must work harder in the off-season to regain its status as a top team in the region.

"We've been plagued this year by repeating mistakes and failing to correct them and that definitely showed this weekend," said Peter Sung '07.

The #4 Panthers opened the tournament with an 11-2 victory against #5 Bowdoin, demonstrating that Polar Bears are more comfortable on ice, than in the warm temperatures of the pool.

Later that night, the Panthers faced perennial rival and number one seed Dartmouth, who defeated Bowdoin 12-0 earlier in the day. Many fans showed up and the home team did not disappoint those who were looking for an exciting game.

This was one of the most action-packed games of the tournament and was never over until the final buzzer sounded.

Both teams were tied entering the fourth quarter, but the Big Green ultimately prevailed, 8-6.

"It was ours to win and we just hit the post a couple of times when we needed goals," said Co-Captain Andrew Herzik '07.5. "Unfortunately someone needs to lose and it was just our turn."

Matt Sullivan '08 had three goals in the game, while Trip Burwell '09 played stellar in goal, but his efforts were not enough to carry the Panthers.

Despite the loss, the Panthers were positive about the result. "I think that we play[ed] really well against Dartmouth," said Sung. "We just couldn't capitalize on offense."

The loss to Dartmouth placed the Panthers in the third place game against Colby on Sunday, while Dartmouth faced Boston College for the championship, which the Eagles eventually won and got the automatic bid to Nationals.

Looking to end the weekend on a high note, Middlebury played with a lot of heart against the Mules, and won 9-7.

Co-Captain Dekker Deacon '07 in particular had a great weekend, playing tremendously on both sides of the pool.

Getting back the top spot will not be an easy task.

"This has been the first year where a lot of the teams in the division have gotten significantly better," said Sung.

"I think [it] is a good thing, but it also means that we are going to have to work a lot harder in the future."