George Washington University Athletics
The Next Step
8/30/2018 12:00:00 PM | Water Polo
Men's water polo eager to build off last year's NCAA run
GW vs. Wagner, 11:30 a.m.
GW vs. Salem International, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday
GW vs. La Salle, 9 a.m.
GW vs. Iona, 3:15 p.m.
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What a run it was: The Colonials earned their ticket to the national tournament with three wins in as many days last fall to claim their first Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference title, a long-awaited breakthrough that sparked a fitting celebration at Navy's Lejeune Hall.
Then, they showed they belonged on the collegiate game's top stage with a gutsy effort at Harvard in their NCAA debut before falling in overtime.
Those memories – plus the hardware and souvenirs collected along the way – remain a well-deserved point of pride for a program that's made great strides in a short time. Increasingly, junior Andrew Mavis has found, they're also a source of motivation.
As a new season begins, the Colonials are eager to write the next chapter.
"I think the whole team agrees," said Mavis, an All-American pick last season after registering a team-high 81 goals. "If you look at last year, winning the conference was great, but the end result was a loss. Against Harvard, we were in a position to win, and we ended up losing. The whole mentality now is 'How can we continue to prove ourselves?'"
For King, it's a question to be met head on. Since the squad reconvened for offseason workouts last January, he's been challenging them to set clear goals for what's next.
The Colonials, who enter the season ranked No. 18 nationally, haven't wavered in their confidence to aim high.
"That's really refreshing from a coaching standpoint," King said. "Because we're addressing some things that need to be addressed in terms of making sure we're improving, but they're also bringing their own motivation to just get better every single day."
GW has a strong foundation in place to keep pushing with Atakan Destici (135 points), Andras Levai (110) and Mavis (94) back to lead the way. The Colonials return seven out of their top 10 scorers in all.
Defensively, they've got a pair of senior goalkeepers with Matt Taylor returning from injury to join Austin Pyrch (team-high 176 saves last season) in net.
All that experience has made King's job easier in his second season and helped ease the transition for the eight new additions on the roster.
"What's been happening is I've been talking less." King said. "When it comes to expectations and culture issues and things like that, I don't have to explain what I want at every turn. We've got guys who aren't afraid to say 'This is the way we do things here now.'"
King said the newcomers' speed in the pool will give the Colonials a chance to play faster this year and use their depth to wear down opponents. That group has consistently pushed the veterans to try to keep up throughout the preseason.
That's been a welcome sign to Destici, the team's offensive engine. The native of Turkey showcased his ability to create for others last season with a program-record 77 assists in 29 games.
Already a leader in the pool with his unselfish play, Destici taken on more of a vocal role heading into his junior season.
"If there's not competition, I don't think there can be success," Destici said. "The competition should start, I think, inside the team, and we have good competition. In the preseason, everyone is fighting for their place on the team."
GW's quest to build on last year's success kicks off with four games at this weekend's Navy Open, beginning with a rematch of the 2017 MAWPC final against Wagner.
The Colonials should find out where they stand quickly with matchups coming against No. 11 Harvard and No. 16 California Baptist at next weekend's Princeton Invitational. They've also got a trip to California on the schedule before the conference slate begins.
With lessons learned along their NCAA run still fresh, Mavis believes they're ready to put their best foot forward.
"I'm really excited," Mavis said. "The whole team's put a ton of work in throughout the offseason. I think right now there's a sense that we're just really eager to show it."
