The Water Polo club completed its best season in many years this past weekend. After going 7 - 1 during the regular season, Colby earned the number one seed in the North Atlantic Division Championships. On Saturday, Colby faced Bates and Bowdoin in the preliminary round of the tournament. Colby's only regular season loss came at the hands of Bates, when the White Mules were missing two key starters. Although Colby had avenged that loss later in the season with a 14-12 victory over the Bobcats, the team was eager to put Bates in its place. Colby quickly proved itself the better team, running off nine unanswered goals in the first two quarters, and eventually annihilating Bates 19-6. Colby relied on team defense and the stellar play of goalie (Ron) Jeremy Greenfield. The depth and balance of the Colby squad was demonstrated with six of the team scoring goals. Freshman sensation, Scott Bixby, led the team with five goals. Much-improved junior Kris Skrzycki, and veteran Alan "Norm" Kennedy also played major roles, contributing four goals each. Colby's scoring was rounded out by two goals apiece from outside gun Mike Siegel, speedy Eric Neumann, and crafty faculty member Kerill O'Neill. "Crushing Bates was a great start to the weekend," said team co-captain, Peter Bowden.

Later in the afternoon Colby matched up against one-time nemesis Bowdoin. Because Bowdoin had fallen to Bates in round-robin play, Colby could afford to lose by six goals, and still advance to the championship final. Nevertheless, Colby's winning spirit and longtime rivalry with Bowdoin guaranteed an aggressive performance by the Colby team. In this game, Scott Bixby showed he deserves his front-runner status for league MVP by finessing seven goals. Colby's focus, however, was to shut down the Bowdoin offense, and their abrasive senior captain, Mason Bragg in particular. Senior Mark Golub played inspired defense, and also contributed a goal on offense. Additional scoring opportunities were created by Senior Kevin Fontanella's powerful driving. The Colby squad, fired-up by co-captain Sara "Stan" Rigelhaupt, thoroughly dominated the Polar Bears in an 11-2 triumph.

Colby's road to the championship final has been an arduous one, taking several years. This year's senior class and faculty team member, Kerill O'Neill, joined a moribund club four years ago, when victories were few and far between. Division III Club Water Polo is a co-ed sport, and over the last few years numerous Colby athletes, male and female, have contributed to the steady improvement of the team's fortunes. This year's co-captains, Rigelhaupt and Bowden, exhorted and cajoled the team through rigorous practices, and hard-fought tournaments to lead Colby to the upper echelons of the Division.

On Sunday morning, Colby lined up against Tufts in the Championship final. The winner would earn a spot in the Division III National Championships. Colby had defeated Tufts in a close game earlier in the season, but Tufts was coming off impressive wins over BU, URI, and WPI to qualify for the final. The game was a thrilling defensive battle, with momentum and the lead see-sawing between the two teams. Tufts opened the scoring on a man-up play, and added a second goal to end the quarter up 2-0. Tufts added a third goal in the second quarter, before Colby stormed back into contention. Scott Bixby used a sweet move and his trademark quickness to open the scoring for Colby, and added another goal with 45 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to 3-2. With time running out in the half, Colby pressure earned them a man-up advantage, and Pete Bowden scored on a rebound from Kerill O'Neill. Colby's momentum carried into the third quarter, as Bowden scored again to give Colby its first lead of the game at 4-3. Tufts responded with three goals from senior captain Matt Long to take a 6-4 lead into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, Greenfield and the defense shut down the Tufts offense, and Colby applied continuous pressure to the Tufts goal. Mike Siegel capitalized on another man-up opportunity to cut the score to 6-5. For the last three minutes, Colby attacked relentlessly, and only the outstanding play of the Tufts goalie denied Colby victory.

After the game, the crowd gave both teams a standing ovation, with many spectators observing it was the best match they had ever seen. Although bitterly disappointed to have come so close to a championship victory, Colby's water polo team should take pride in their 9-2 record and extraordinary season. The seniors can take pride in the role they played in turning Colby water polo around. From now on, the North Atlantic Division will sit up and take notice whenever Colby takes to the water.