After a season-opening 21 straight road games over its first month of play, the GW’s men’s water polo team finally got the opportunity to play in its refurbished home in the basement of the Smith Center Thursday. Although the excitement brought out a sizeable crowd, and senior John-Claude Wright tied his career high with six goals, the Colonials could not fend off No. 17 Bucknell, dropping their home opener 19-13.
Despite the loss, head coach Scott Reed seemed impressed with the renovated facilities and glad to return home.
“It’s great,” he said. “The echo in here makes it hard for the other team to hear itself.”
The Colonials (7-16) weren’t the only ones impressed with the revamped digs, Reed said.
“The place looks fabulous. Bucknell complimented (the building’s) lighting,” he said.
After GW – who also lost Friday at Johns Hopkins – took an early 3-2 lead, the quickness of the nationally ranked Bison seemed to fool the Colonials. A mid-second quarter time-out by Reed symbolized GW’s loss of control for the flow of the game.
“(We) grew very impatient, tried to force things (but we) had to wait another 8-12 seconds,” Reed said. “We rushed things too much.”
Although the game inflicted a tough loss on the Colonials’ already tough season, it was not without its bright spots. Aside from tying his career-best scoring output, Wright also matched his previous high with seven points. He entered Thursday’s action tied for fourth in the nation with 48 scores and ended up adding a total of seven goals to his tally over the weekend’s two games.
Outside from offering a chance to see the pool’s new seating area, the Colonial Challenge program brought out several other GW sports teams to watch the match. The challenge encourages GW student-athletes to support one another by awarding the team that has the best attendance at GW athletic events with $200.
“We need to find alternative ways of finding (money),” freshman women’s rugby player Lauren Clark said.
Other teams in attendance included the women’s basketball squad and the swim team.
The men’s water polo team’s next home match is on Saturday, Oct. 17 against Princeton and is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start.
