CMC75 Moments: 2010 Men's Water Polo Takes Back SCIAC Title
As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moments, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.
Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
2010 Men's Water Polo: Stags Take Back SCIAC Title
CMS had been the SCIAC's water polo dynasty through the 1980s and 1990s, winning the league championship 16 times in a 17-year span from 1982-98, including a streak of 110 SCIAC wins in a row. The 2010 team, which was coming off a runner-up finish in the 2009 tournament, set a goal of returning the program to its past tradition, and came through with a SCIAC Championship behind a pair of dramatic postseason wins.
The SCIAC Champion at the time was determined by a point system based on the number of regular season wins and the finish in the conference tournament. The Stags finished fourth in the seven-game round robin at 4-3, two games behind Redlands, who the Stags met in the SCIAC Semifinals in a pivotal battle. Redlands defeated CMS 4-2 in the 2009 championship game at Axelrood Pool, and the 2010 tournament rematch went into overtime before the revenge-minded Stags were able to come through with a huge 9-8 win.
CMS then faced surprising Whittier in the championship, which finished sixth in the regular season but upset No. 2 Cal Lutheran and No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer to advance to the finals. The Poets had ideas of a third straight upset in mind, staying deadlocked with CMS 4-4 heading in the fourth quarter, and potentially spoiling the championship bid for the Stags (a loss would give Redlands the title). The Stags, though, broke the tie with a man-up goal with 3:17 left and added an insurance goal with 1:30 remaining and the defense held stout to give CMS its first SCIAC title since 1998 with a 6-4 victory.
Brian Chong was named the SCIAC Athlete of the Year and the Division III Player of the Year for the Stags, while Brian Baier joined Chong as a first-team All-America and first-team All-SCIAC selection. Huston Middlesworth was also named first-team All-SCIAC, and Sean Wasserman was named to the second team, while Middlesworth, Wasserman and Vincent Schiavoni earned third-team All-America selections.
Sean Wasserman:
What sticks out to me is how close we all became. All of the early mornings together and hours in the pool really made a big difference towards the end of the season. A lot of times in sports you practice and play together, but you might not hang out together. This team was different. We really loved one another and spent most of our time out of the water with each other. The team was incredibly focused on winning the league championship (that was always our biggest goal). The focus ramped up come playoff time, and it was such a sweet feeling to see it all come together with a win in the championship.
As for specific games, the semifinals against Redlands was one of the most intense I had ever been a part of. It was a true war. The game was back and forth the whole time, and we had lost to them the previous year in the championship. And for some reason, night games always seemed to bring a little something extra to the table. Winning that game was arguably our greatest accomplishment as a team, and then to follow it up with another win in the finals made things even sweeter.
But to me what sticks out about the tournament was what would happen pre game. Mike Lee was beloved by everyone on the team, so I asked him if he would deliver a pregame speech to the guys before our first playoff game. He absolutely crushed it and got the entire team pumped up to a level I hadn't seen before. When we won in the first round, we had to keep this ritual going, and his pregame speeches served as a spark for us for every game during the championships.
2010 Men's Water Polo Roster
Head Coach: Greg Lonzo
Assistant Coach: Mark Canner
Brian Baier (So., CMC)
Brian Cheney (Fr., HMC)
Jonah Chodosh (Jr., CMC)
Brian Chong (Jr., CMC)
Andrew Cosentino (Sr., CMC)
Brian Downs (So., CMC)
Will Ferenc (So., HMC)
John Holland (Fr., CMC)
Michael Lee (Jr., CMC)
Gavin Langsdorf (Fr., CMC)
Maarten Lefor (Fr., CMC)
Greg Mann (So., CMC)
Huston Middlesworth (So., CMC)
Daniel Polyakov (Jr., CMC)
Chris Preston (Sr., CMC)
Alex Reisfield (Jr., CMC)
Jacob Roth (So., CMC)
Greg Sanford (Sr., CMC)
Vincent Schiavoni (Jr., CMC)
Garrett Smith (Sr., CMC)
Joshua Thomasson (Fr., CMC)
Sean Wasserman (Sr., CMC)
Ari Wes (Jr., CMC)