The Colby Echo

Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of Stephen Taylor The club water polo team took the CBB championship at Bowdoin College Saturday.

Media Credit: Courtesy of Stephen Taylor Goalie Kit Clark '08 blocks a shot during CBB play last weekend.

Men's water polo has done it again. For the fourth year in a row, the Mules' water polo team has collected the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin title by dominating both the Bobcats and the Polar Bears to make this elite Colby team a dynasty. At last weekend's water polo tournament at Bowdoin College, the Mules split the four games they played, suffering losses to Tufts University and Amherst College.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, the Mules lost to Amherst 11-6, but rebounded later with a 9-2 victory over Bates. In the Amherst game, Zac Bloom '09 had a strong showing and scored two goals. Kit Clark '08, in his last collegiate tournament, allowed only two goals in the Bates game to "seal the first half of the CBB championship," Sam Wampler '09 said. Wampler played four devastating games, controlling Colby's offense and leading the team with 25 goals in the tournament. Sophomore Reilly Taylor played an important role in defeating Bates, highlighted by his first career hat trick. Andrew Peterson '08 was impressed by the play of the younger players on the team. "It is great to see that when I leave, the team is in good hands." From the looks of last weekend's play, the CBB title could likely stay in the hands of Colby for years to come.

The next day on Sunday, Sept. 30, the Mules bowed to a good Tufts team 14-8. Bloom had another strong performance and finished the game with two goals. Peterson shutout Tufts and did not allow a goal all tournament when he was in goal. "The team is really coming along well and we worked out the kinks this weekend. We are playing more as a team now, getting into a flow faster and communicating better," he said.

This certainly showed in the 10-7 win against Bowdoin to wrap up the tournament. Colby controlled the game from the start, going up 10-2 by the half. Bowdoin launched a second half comeback, but it was not enough. Wampler had seven goals that game, the second time he has scored seven times in a game this year. Peterson had nothing but praise for his teammate: "That was an epic game out of Sam. He outscores opposing teams singlehandedly." Wampler trained hard over the summer and it really paid off. He had no trouble adjusting to the larger sized pools used in the tournament. Fellow players consider him a lock-in to be a first team all conference player.

The Mules' next game is the championship tournament at the end of October. This gives the Mules a considerable amount of time to prepare for anything thrown at them. Peterson sounded confident in his team's chances. "We've seen their plays and how they run them. Now it is our time to practice defending them and maybe make a run at the title in October."

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