Buff & Blue Forever Presented by Capgemini: Andrew Mavis

When the celebration in the pool subsided, Andrew Mavis took a look toward the bleachers where the party was still roaring.

A strong Buff and Blue crowd had packed Navy's Lejeune Hall to watch GW try for the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference title, and now that history had been achieved with a victory over Wagner, the excitement matched the long-awaited moment.

Scanning the crowd, Mavis found former Colonial Guy Helman, a long-time family friend whose mother had once pushed for young Andrew to give the sport a try and years later helped pitch the budding recruit on what was possible in Foggy Bottom.

For Mavis, Helman's ear-to-ear grin was particularly special. That his friend was surrounded by giddy alumni representing decades of program history made it even better.

"To know that all those people who had put in so much work – and then failure to never have won – now get to experience the success with us was huge," Mavis remembered. "That just made it so much sweeter."

A three-time ACWPC All-American, Mavis did so much over the past four years to help the program reach unprecedented heights and grow its reputation on the national scene.

An undersized center adept at navigating traffic in front of the net, Mavis piled up 279 goals, stoking the GW attack through his hard work and sheer force of will. Beyond that production, the Princeton, N.J., native was a key part of developing a culture under head coach Barry King that allowed the Colonials collectively to keep pushing forward.

Seventy-seven wins, two MAWPC titles, two NCAA berths and the program's 2018 run to the national quarterfinals are a testament to Mavis' efforts, in and out of the pool.

"Really all he did was get better," King said. "A little of it was getting him in the right situations and getting his teammates used to how he works, but the vast majority of it was just his desire to be better."

With that uncommon drive, the soft-spoken Mavis has been a leader by example in that movement from the start.

His uber-focused approach meshed right away with Atakan Destici, who arrived from Turkey with a wealth of high-level water polo experience to share and much to learn about life in his new home.

The roommates built their bond over extra sessions putting in work at Smith Center Pool and intricate conversations about the fine details of the game.

A run that began with Mavis and Destici sharing a hotel room as shy newcomers during a 2016 preseason training trip to California ended with the pair both three-time All-Americans and cemented among the program's all-time greats.

"All based around water polo, we were able to build this chemistry and this relationship that was so much more than water polo," Mavis said. "He's now become one of my best friends, just going through so much together."

Indeed, there were some harsh lessons early, notably the 2016 MAWPC final.

A year after going winless in conference play, the Colonials, boosted by the addition of Mavis and his classmates, pushed within a victory of hanging their first banner. Instead, Bucknell pulled away for a comfortable 11-5 victory to claim the title in its home pool.

"When we got to the championship game, nobody knew what to do," Mavis said. "Everyone just panicked. We didn't understand what it was like to perform in a big moment."

Personally, Mavis had work to do, as well. He posted 39 goals over 26 games, but he didn't feel comfortable in his role. A summer spent diligently training at a club in Serbia and King's arrival helped set him on course to become one of the nation's top centers.

"I felt there wasn't a sense of belief in what I could do," Mavis said. "Then Barry just trusted me and said 'Just do what you do.' I didn't have that green light before."

King watched all the film he could of the group before his first meeting with the group in August 2017. His main message: You guys are a lot better than you think you are.

"I think he saw himself in that comment, took it to heart, and just by the way that he worked, he lifted everybody else's game while he was lifting his own," King said. "He set his mind on being as good as he possibly could be and just went after it."

That season, the Colonials were able to finish the title push. In the MAWPC semifinals, they rallied from five goals down to beat Fordham, 16-15, on a Mavis goal with five seconds left in the second overtime period. The next day, they edged Wagner, 8-5, to set off the memorable celebration in front of the energetic crowd who made the short trip to Navy to witness history.

It was a memorable weekend that illustrated the group's newfound mental fortitude with the season on the line.

"We just showed we're never out," said Mavis, who was named Most Valuable Player after scoring 10 goals over the three wins. "We don't care what's in our face. We don't care what's happened. You never want to be in a position where you're down five, but we knew we could come back from it."

In 2018, GW once again proved it could handle the pressure. The Colonials won a thrilling MAWPC final over Bucknell with Destici's buzzer-beater to end regulation forcing overtime and Mavis scored twice in extra time for a 12-11 victory.

The group took the next step the following weekend, rallying from five goals down in the second half to defeat Princeton, 14-13. Playing in his hometown in front of a slew of friends, family and an enthusiastic group of his former teachers, Mavis assisted the game-winning goal from Henry Maas in the historic victory that staked the Colonials' claim as the top team on the East Coast.

GW's run ended vs. 11-time NCAA champion UCLA, but just earning the chance to play for a national title on the sport's biggest stage at Stanford showed what was possible for the program.

"We had finally gained the confidence as a program to – like Barry always says – be the best we could possibly be," said Mavis, who netted a career high 83 goals as a junior. "We learned how to win. We learned what it was like to be a 20-plus win team. We began to have the confidence that we could go and beat anybody."

That's the legacy that Mavis, as well as his graduating teammates Destici, Matt Taylor, Jordan Blosser, Heath Faulkner and Isher Gill, leave behind. They conducted themselves like champions and then made it happen.

For Mavis, that discipline was evident in a strict sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free diet throughout his time in Foggy Bottom. His biggest improvements in the water came from learning to dial down the intensity at times and become more efficient in his movements, according to King.

Beyond the pool, Mavis was a three-time ACWPC All-Academic pick as an International Affairs major, and he was part of team efforts to give back through events like So Others Might Eat's annual Turkey Trot, National Wreaths Across America Day at Arlington National Cemetery and the Out of the Darkness Community Walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Along the way, the Colonials created a bond that figures to be felt within the program for years to come.

"It really is a family now," said Mavis, who plans to continue his career professionally in Europe beginning in the fall. "Everyone now cares so much, not just about the sport but about making sure they don't let the guy next to them down. That breeds success, in my opinion, because you have all these people that hold each other accountable."

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Jordan Blosser

Atakan Destici

Heath Faulkner

Isher Gill

Henry Maas

Andrew Mavis

Matt Taylor

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