The water polo team will be competing this weekend in San Diego against 15 other teams. Kevin Dunn said that the team has a good chance of winning the tournament if they beat UCLA. (Photo by Hector Salas Almeida)The ASU club water polo team is headed to the National Collegiate Club Championship this weekend after it beat Utah in the regional tournament on Sunday.
Graduate student center Ryan Bethell said the team's success is due in part to its coaching and captain.
“From the first game, it was clear to me that this team could be something special,” Bethell said. “This feels like a team.”
The team has never won a championship, but Bethell said it is in a position where it can be successful at the national level.
Head coach Wesley Sjoholm was one of two members who started the club team seven years ago. He said his experience on the team has allowed him to focus the practices better and to help the team be successful.
Sjoholm said it was hard to transition into the coaching position, but it is something that has been rewarding and fun.
“You really start thinking about the strategy rather than what I can do to score the goal,” he said. “It is now, 'What can I make all you guys do together to score and win?'"
Sjoholm said the new teammates don’t know him as the goofy guy on the team but more as a mentor who they look up to for advice.
Bethell said Sjoholm provides consistency and a vision for the program and that the coach has allowed the Sun Devils to be successful thus far.
“He has been so instrumental to the program,” Bethell said.
Bethell said Sjoholm's time as a player on the team shaped his skills as a coach and has made the program a force to be reckoned with every year.
Team captain Kevin Dunn, a utility player, said the team is successful because it built camaraderie right from the start of the season.
“I’m all about having a family and not having one person be the team,” Dunn said. “Me preaching has helped us mesh together because it gave the freshmen more confidence.”
Dunn said the team has a pretty good chance of winning the national competition if it can beat the team from the California division, UCLA.
“If we win the third game against UCLA, we have a good chance of winning (nationals),” Dunn said.
The starters for the team tournament are two seniors and four freshmen, something Dunn said is unheard of. He said the freshmen have dedication in practice and performance during tournaments that have made them become starters.
Freshman starting center Colin Megnin said he had to prove himself at the beginning of the season, but that he has worked in the weight room and in the pool to make sure he is ready for game days.
Megnin said the team's coaching and leadership has helped the new members feel like their performance is valued and crucial for the team to be successful this season.
The national championship will start Nov. 8 in San Diego. ASU's first match is against Cornell at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
“Win or lose this weekend, we will look back at the season to one that has been kind of special and really enjoyable,” Bethell said.
Reach the reporter at @hsalasal.asu.edu or folow him on Twitter @hsalasalmeida
