Just like most colleges in America, Mesa State has many sports to offer. While El Pomar Natatorium was constructed for the swim teams, which had very successful seasons at the pool, the facility is also home to one of Mesa’s newer secrets, the club water polo team.
Water polo originated as a class at Mesa State. With both men’s and women’s swimming teams starting to become more successful and more popular, coach Jim Hildebrand wanted to bring a more exciting game to the pools of Mesa State. And when the news broke out, there were already players who were excited by the announcement.
“I’m so pumped up for it,” senior Ally Bottom said. “Coming in after my freshman year nobody knew what water polo was. Now we have a solid group that shows up every week. It just makes me excited that it’s coming to Grand Junction.”
Bottom has been playing the sport since her days at Arlington High School in California and has the most experience on the team. She played on a club team for four years and also made it to the Junior Olympics. She is also one of just two girls on the team, but that doesn’t stop her from outperforming the rest of the team.
“It feels good to get that respect from the guys,” Bottom said. “They don’t expect it at all until I steal the ball or score. Then they are shocked and realize I can play with them, too.”
El Pomar Natatorium has been the big reason water polo started. With a facility that’s still fairly new and a few swimming coaches that like to help out, the first full year as a club sport has started off smoother than expected.
“Brian (Pearson) was helping coach it when it was a class last spring, but didn’t have the water polo background,” Hildebrand said. “I said that I could help and he said to definitely come out and help. He has been a lot of help. As for the facility, we have the nicest in the conference. We are also centrally located compared to the other club teams we’ll face. When Weber State and Southern Utah want to go and play Denver University, Colorado State and Air Force, they have to come through Junction anyway, and with Pearson’s support, we will get to host many tournaments.”
Another big plus with the natatorium is that it’s a place to call home. Being able to just keeps things in their own lockers and not have to haul every item from place to place gives the team a home pool advantage.
“It’s just cool to have our own pool and have all the nice equipment and new balls and new equipment,” Bottom said. It’s just nice to not have to borrow a pool and bring our own stuff.”
While water polo is gaining popularity, there is still a chunk of the college population that has no idea that the sport even exists. That’s why the team is still looking for more players to fill the roster.
“I’ve been playing polo since the class started here last year,” Jeff Sederlin said. “As more people got into the class and we actually got a coach, we have been a lot more serious. But there are a lot of people that don’t know we have a team. When I tell them that I play they are more shocked that we even have a team. When they realize we do, they are very interested in it. I just hope we can get our name out there and get more and more people interested in it.”
Just like any other first year club sport, expectations are nothing big. It’s a way to gain experience and tune up before the club becomes an official sport at the school.
“I would just like to see the team go to a few tournaments,” Sederlin said. “We would definitely get a better experience. At this point I don’t think we’re going to win any tournaments or win division championships, but I just want to get more experience. Have our players play against others that have more experience and get a hands on learning experience that way. I also think winning a couple games would be nice and helpful.”
Water polo brings Mesa State a brand new experience. With a new sport to get into, this group looks to bring a new wave of fun to the pool.
“The best part about being on the team is that the people are awesome,” Sederlin said. “They are all just a great group of people to work with and be able to improve our water polo skills.”