Long nights working on problem sets. Early morning practices. The class load of a Stanford engineer. The athletic demands of a Stanford varsity water polo player. These may seem like incompatible demands on one person’s time, but for junior two-meter Forrest Watkins, it’s a daily schedule.
The top-ranked Stanford men’s water polo team won its first two games of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular season this weekend, the second in a battle that went down to the final seconds. Both games featured strong defensive efforts, and the Cardinal showed why it is going to be a factor at the top of the league this year, beating No. 8 Pepperdine 9-5 and No. 5 UC-Santa Barbara 6-5 Sunday afternoon.
Stanford men’s water polo, fresh off of its first place finish at the SoCal Tournament last week, hopes to carry that momentum into conference play this weekend in an MPSF conference that includes the eight of the top-ranked teams in the country.
After helping the men’s water polo team to a big win at the SoCal Tournament last weekend, freshman Alex Bowen got some good news when he was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Mikasa Player of the Week for the week of Sep. 26-Oct. 2.
The Stanford men’s water polo team took first place in the SoCal Tournament this weekend, avenging its only two losses of the season in the process
It wasn’t always pretty, but the men’s water polo team got its act together over the final weeks of last season, mounting a late push that ended just short of the national championship. The Cardinal lost first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selection Jeffrey Schwimmer, who scored 33 goals for Stanford in 2010, to graduation but returns six of its top eight scorers from last year.
Head coach John Vargas announced the newest members of the Stanford men’s water polo team yesterday, confirming that Alex Bowen, Michael Carter, Robert Dunlevie and Clayton Evans will be taking to the water with thpe Cardinal this fall.
In all likelihood, its 8-7 loss in triple overtime in the MPSF Tournament final was the last game of the season for the Stanford men’s water polo team.
Hey all,
Yesterday was even quieter than Tuesday for our program here at home. The morning distance crew practice was comprised of Will, Garrett, Thomas, Luke and myself. Starting from the track around 7:20 a.m., we headed out going west on Campus Drive towards the hospital, eventually connecting with Junipero Serra and then onto Alpine Road.
(CASEY VALENTINE/StanfordPhoto.com)