The Monmouth College water polo team completed their first full season on Nov. 4. The team, which refers to itself as the Crab People, competed in the Heartland Division this year, and they finished the regular season with a respectable 4-4 record in the division.

The team placed third out of eight teams at the Heartland Division Championship on Oct. 13, and their strong performance was good enough to earn them a spot in the national tournament on Nov. 3 and 4.

The Crab People were very pleased at the opportunity to compete in nationals in their first season, and they were able to hold their own against more established programs.

The tournament was held just outside of St. Louis, Mo., and Monmouth’s squad kicked off their competition on Nov. 3 against the second seed, Tufts University.

The Crab People trailed by just one goal after the first quarter, but they ended up getting defeated 16-6 in the game. Sophomore Joe Moran and freshman Tom Pedersen scored two goals each for Monmouth, while sophomore Matt O’Rourke and junior Jim Travnik each scored one goal.

Monmouth’s next game was against the University of Chicago, and The Crab People held an impressive 3-1 lead after the first quarter. University of Chicago stormed back, however, and defeated Monmouth by the slimmest of margins, 10-9. Moran, who is the team’s captain and coach, led Monmouth with five goals in the match, while Pedersen added three.

The Crab People had an opportunity for redemption on Nov. 4, when they faced rivals Knox College for the seventh place game of the tournament. Monmouth performed well, and they ended up defeating Knox 12-7. Moran again led the team in goals, recording five. Sophomore John Kaiser added three goals for Monmouth, and Pedersen netted two. Monmouth’s goalkeeper, sophomore Matt Travnik, played well in the net and recorded 13 saves in the match.

Knox jumped out to a fast start and held a 2-1 lead after the first quarter. Knox also scored the first goal in the second quarter to take a 3-1 advantage, but the Crab People responded by closing out the half with four consecutive goals. After two more strong quarters in the second half, Monmouth eventually won the game in dominating fashion.

The squad is hoping their successful season will help them improve in future competitions.

“I think coming into the season we set our sights high on going to nationals and we got there, so it’s going to make us really optimistic for our spring tournament season,” O’Rourke said.

Overall, the Crab People were pleased with their achievements in their first full season. They have a very young squad, according to O’Rourke, and many of their players did not play water polo before last year. One member of the team who has had experience in the sport before this season was Pedersen, who played for a dominant St. Patrick High School team in Chicago for the past four years.

Pedersen said he was very impressed with Monmouth’s squad. “I came from a really big powerhouse water polo high school, but not too many kids from Monmouth College played [previously] going into this season. They had never played water polo before, and I thought it was really outstanding to see everybody come together and play as a team.”

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