Courtesy of Janet Briggs '25

The water polo team had a strong season, finishing second in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) North Atlantic division, its highest finish since the club last won the division in 2012.

The team was bolstered by a strong first-year recruitment effort, including starters Maeve Peterson ’29 and Ben Squires ’29. Earlier this season, the team went 2–2 in the Colby College tournament in late September, beating Colby and Worcester Polytechnic Institute but losing to University of Vermont (UVM) and Tufts University. In the second tournament of the season hosted by UVM, the team beat Tufts for the first time in over a decade, winning 20–19 in overtime. Star attacker Elliot Dziedzic ’28 scored 11 goals in that win, nearly half of the 23 goals he scored over the course of that tournament.

According to Milo Pishev ’28, the Tufts matchup was among the most intense games of his career.

“I personally played the most I ever had in a water polo game, nearly four quarters and overtime, and a lot of other people did as well, just putting it all out on the line,” Pishev said.

Coach Jim Doyle said the win was bolstered by a team with a diverse and growing skill set as well as by continued practice and mentorship from coaching and captains alike throughout the season.

“People are very devoted to many things at Bowdoin, but they come through with water polo,” Doyle said. “What we do is focus on the individual, what they can contribute to a team, what they feel comfortable doing, what they’re prepared for, and [tailor] our offense based on those skills.”

The team went on to go 1–1 at its final tournament at home last weekend, falling to the University of Connecticut but beating Wesleyan University and securing the divisional second-place spot. Doyle added the runner-up finish was a combination of skilled performances by players and the strong bonds the team had built over the years.

“The captains created a situation where we have a team attitude that’s about working hard but having fun, respecting others, being inclusive, things like that that create a genuine team atmosphere that goes beyond the pool,” Doyle said. “They’re having dinner most nights together.… It keeps that camaraderie going, and that team mentality.”

Peterson echoed these sentiments, expressing how coming into collegiate water polo in the Northeast from a West Coast high school environment was a welcome change.

“The level of play is a little bit elevated [in California] from what it is here, but I think also that adds to a much unhealthier environment,” Peterson said.“It just was not the supportive, healthy environment it is here.”

John Schubert ’26, one of the three captains alongside Nina Fearon ’26 and Brittany Yue ’27, said that support from the other two captains has been instrumental in the team’s success.

“I think being the captain of a club sport is really unique because not only are you responsible for managing social and team dynamics, [but] there’s a ton of logistical work because you have to do all of the travel and funding stuff yourself,” Schubert said. “[Yue] and [Fearon] have been great partners. I really cannot imagine better people to have worked with in my time here. They’re great players in the pool but even better leaders out of it.”

Next year, Schubert believes the outlook for the team is strong, with starters Micah Sher ’27, who was awarded first-team all-conference last year, Peter Hou ’27 and Getchell Gibbons ’27 returning from abroad. He hopes the team can defeat UVM, its strongest competitor.

“I think that we’ll be competitive for the division championship, which would be huge since we haven’t won that since 2012,” Schubert said. “I think cohesion will continue to get better. People who came and were new to the sport this fall will have had a whole year of off season to get better, and I think that we really will be competing for that championship [against UVM] next year.”

John Schubert ’26 is a member of The Bowdoin Orient.