On April 13, The Connecticut College Women’s Water Polo Team won the Division III Championship, beating their rivals and previous winner Grov City College.
The final game had the Camel’s ahead 4-1 during the first three quarters, but in the final quarter each team scored two points. The final two points scored for Conn were also scored for a coach-less team.
“During the final round on Saturday Coach JJ Addison got an ejection from the game, Assistant Coach Ryan Pryor had gotten one the day before so for 5 minutes the team didn’t have a water polo coach. One of the trainers had to be the coach instead,” said Andrew Bullis ’16, who is a member of the men’s water polo team. “But the girls dealt with it really well and they maintained control of the game.”
According to the NCAA rules, a team cannot be without a coach during a game. Connecticut College athletic trainer Daniel Siopa had to fill in as coach for the remaining minutes. But the girls held their own and scored two more points securing their win and their place as D3 Water Polo Champions.
This is a huge win for Conn Water Polo in general; this is the highest in which either team (men’s or women’s) has finished. Because of this, the women’s team will be attending CWPA Eastern Championship, the first time a Division III school will be in attendance. Conn will play teams such as Harvard, Princeton, Brown and Notre Dame.
In addition to playing at the CWPA championship, the Conn Water Polo team was awarded huge honors by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. Nicky Jasbon ‘15 was named Most Valuable Player of the Year and Coach JJ Addision was named Coach of the Year. Jasbon also claimed First Team honors along with Kristin Lampley ’13.
