Men’s water polo started their season on Feb. 24 with practices on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Crab People, who recently formed last semester, have now grown to over fifteen members. The team scrimmages everyday and practices with Knox College.

They hope to be better next year, as they are only losing one player and expect five incoming freshmen.

The team will host two tournaments here at Monmouth College. The first will be played against various teams, such as University of Illinois, Western Illinois University, Illinois State University and Augustana College. The second will feature teams from Monmouth’s conference, including Grinnell College and Knox.

The team will be coached by junior Kurt Niemeier, one of Monmouth’s top players, with sophomore Joe Moran as captain and sophomore goalkeeper Matt Travnik as assistant captain.

Moran, along with freshman Tom Pederson, led the team in scoring last year. Moran, Pederson and Travnik also earned positions as Players of the Week and Heartland Division All-Conference Players, the only underclassmen to do so.

The team placed third in their division last year, but looks to take the title this year with a little more experience and a lot of hard work.

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