Marist water polo is seeking to prove they have the talent it takes to bring home a MAAC championship.
Expectations are high, as the Red Foxes were ranked third in the MAAC Preseason Poll and 25th nationally according to the Collegiate Water Polo Association. Marist finished the 2023 season with a winning record in the MAAC (12-1) and an overall winning season (23-10), earning themselves the title of co-regular season champions.
Last year, the team’s season came to an end quicker than they would have liked, as they fell to LIU in the MAAC conference semi-finals. The Sharks then went on to win the 2023 MAAC championship.
“They beat us in a semi where we were just really tight and uncharacteristic of ourselves all year, we got to that one portion of the season and we were just really tight and it showed in the way we played,” said MAAC 2023 Water Polo Coach of the Year Chris Vidale.
To open the 2024 season, the Red Foxes are traveling to the UCSB Winter Invitational, and they are facing off against top Division I ranked opponents: UCLA (3), UCSD (10), Pomona-Pitzer (T25), and Whittier College, who are ranked eighth in Division III. The Red Foxes have notably played UCSD 12 times since 2007 and have yet to win a game against the Tritons. Regardless, Marist hopes to use the stiff competition as a way to build team cohesion.
“We were gone for three weeks, but we’ve been grinding since we’ve been back at school, seeing how everyone plays as a group and just getting to learn how individuals play more coming into the season,” said Preseason All-MAAC junior center Ella Baumgarten on the upcoming tournament.
The Red Foxes announced three captains this year: Baumgarten, graduate student utility Shinae Carrington and senior utility Kaylee Brard.
“I was really basing it off of our cultural qualities that we like to uphold: being positive, having good body language, being a good person, treating your teammates with respect, showing up in shape,” said Vidale. “Ability was way last to be quite honest.”
All three captains appeared in every match last season, and the trio totaled 123 goals. 62 of those goals came from Baumgarten.
Baumgarten played a prominent role in the 2023 season, receiving numerous individual accolades and reaching a single-game high of eight goals during Marist’s 18-16 win against Cal Baptist University on March 15.
“As captain, I hope to just be able to lead by example and be someone that my team can look up to if they have any questions. But everyone has a very important role on this team, be able to play together and know that you can look anywhere in the pool and have someone you rely on,” said Baumgarten.
Water Polo is not an individual sport and Vidale stresses the importance of togetherness to his team.
“It really is about everybody. I’m not the biggest fan of the accolades and all that stuff because it’s a team sport and it’s about the group. So while I think all that’s great and individual awards are wonderful, it’s important that we do what we need to do so we can be successful, so it’s about all of us,” said Vidale.
Marist is not scheduled to play a MAAC conference game until March, giving the team some time to build towards their goal of winning a MAAC Championship.
“We all wanted to win that semi-final last year. I think as a group goal we want to show up, especially in the MAAC games,” said sophomore goaltender Inés Sánchez.
As a freshman, Sánchez appeared in every match, tallying 90 saves. Sánchez shaped the Red Foxes’ defense and was named MAAC co-Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-MAAC.
If Marist can play as a team and build on their connection and drive to win, they have all the components to become a championship team.
Vidale is no stranger to the MAAC tournament, as he enters his eighth season as head coach with an overall record of 129-95. His team placed second in the MAAC tournament for three consecutive years (2017-2019), and then won the MAAC in 2021 when the Red Foxes defeated VMI in a 13-10 victory.
“One, we have nothing to lose, two, we have a lot to prove at the same time because we have the pieces to be a championship team,” said Vidale.
This team longs to return to the top and is ready to prove themselves along the way.
Edited by Luke Sassa and Ben Leeds
Photo Credit: Marist Athletics via Stockton Photo
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