8B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
第9页
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 10, 2001
Water polo team passionate about play
AABON LINDBERG/KANSAN
J. D. Boyle, Cleveland senior, looks to pass the ball to the hole man during a game against the Kansas Masters team Sunday in the Robinson Center pool. The Jayhawks, a club team, defeated the Masters.
By Steve Schmidt
Kansan sportswriter
Imagine if Drew Gooden was battling in the paint against a Missouri defender and all of sudden nine feet of water covered the court at Allen Fieldhouse.
Realizing the magnitude of the game, Gooden and his opponent decide to keep playing. This clash in the watery paint would resemble what water polo players go through on a routine basis on their way to the net.
Richard Farley knows all about water polo. In fact, the San Diego freshman has a love for the game. He competed all four years in high school and two years at the junior national level. Farley hails from Southern California, where the sport flourishes with popularity and is the home of the nation's top college programs. Farley said he was surprised Kansas even had a team. But when he went to practice, he realized that a club team in the Midwest could share his enthusiasm.
"I went to the practice and I was surprised at the effort that most these guys put in every day," Farley said. "Not many from this part of the country know about the sport. Not many people are fully aware exactly how to play, but it's the passion for the game that they love and
that's what they have."
This year, the Kansas club team has a 1-3 record in the Great Plains Division of the Collegiate Water Polo Association, despite a balanced scoring attack lead by seven experienced players. The team's only win was a 9-7 decision against Iowa State, and will be in action this weekend at Washington University in St. Louis. Its 11-game season wraps up in Minneapolis, Minn., at the division championships from Saturday, Oct. 27, and Sunday, Oct. 28. The champion will go on to the national championships at the University of Florida.
To get to the national championships, a team must master swimming in a 25-meter pool, while six players attempt to throw a ball past a treading goalie and into a large soccer-like net.
"It's not that hard to learn if you really try, people think that it's inspiring," said Kevin Gates, St. Louis sophomore.
"Once you get the basics down, it's pretty easy."
Easy, fun and rewarding.
"We're not into just die-hard competition. We're into going out and having fun," said John Trombold, Leawood senior and team vice president. "Obviously, we try to win, we practice to win, but if we don't, we still have a good time." Contact Schmidt at 864-4858
Jason Huntington, Leawood freshman, looks for an open shot during the victory over the Kansas Masters on Sunday at Robinson. The Kansas club water polo team is 1-3 so far this season.
AARON LINDBERG/KANSAN
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