Club water polo doesn't horse around

It's what you don't see that's the key to water polo. Although it appears to be a pretty simple game, the normal spectator misses out on the thrashing legs, the yanking arms and the twisting bodies that make a 28-minute game exhausting. And just three years ago, in Penn Water Polo Club captain Liz Greig's freshman year, water polo as a sport was something you don't see. Like many club sports, its players were always at the mercy of the more prominent sports - in this case, mostly varsity swimming. "We could barely get practices when I was a freshman. We used to practice from like 11 at night `till one in the morning," Greig said. "This year everything is falling into place. Now we get a little more respect from the university." Greig came to Penn with little intention of continuing her career in water polo. However, she found herself drawn to the sport. Now the captain for the women's team and the coach for the men's, Greig has become one of the most important water polo figures at Penn. The team is quick to credit its captain for much of its new-found success. "Liz Greig has basically built up the program," women's water polo player Zarin Tejani said. "She got us new nets so that we could practice earlier and [got us] more pool time." The water poloers are gaining considerable respect through their stellar performances this season. Under the direction of coach Chris Lee, the Penn polo players have become formidable opponents in their newly formed league. Until this year, Penn competed against a variety of varsity teams in the region. Now, the NCAA has created an official women's water polo league, and many of those former Penn opponents are in it. As a result, the Quakers' schedule is more managable and Penn is winning more games. "Since we're playing all club teams this year, we feel we have more of a chance," Tejani said. "The program has definitely developed more." Penn's water polo program will continue to develop with the help of a large and strong freshman class. The veterans were shocked at the amount of girls that came out to play in the fall. "It seems like every year we seem to get a handful of really good water polo players," Tejani said. "They don't get recruited because it's a club team, but we get a lot of girls from Florida and California where water polo is really big." Many of the freshmen this year came in with prior experience, making the team-building process that much easier. "I initially didn't expect much from the team," freshman Kate Uvelli said. "I came here to find that there are a lot of people that are very developed in the sport." The balance between upperclassmen and new players has proved successful for the Red and Blue. However, the Quakers are still searching for strong team unity and cohesiveness. "I think we have a lot of experience and a lot of talent," Tejani said. "We just need more practice at playing together as a team." The Quakers face the climax of their season in less than a month at their League Championships.

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