For the first time in four years the boys Water Polo team has a winning record.

So far this season this season the team is off to a good start. In the past 3 years the boys team has had a record of 2-10, 2-10 and 4-10. The team plays in the competitive NEPSAC water polo league with 10 other prep schools.

Because most schools don’t have pools or a water polo program, there are no other divisions. As a result, the team must play schools like Exeter and Andover with student bodies nearly triple the size of Williston’s. Since water polo isn’t a sport that schools in New England recruit for, student body size is a huge factor in determining the quality of a team.

This season the team beat Choate in a decisive 13-4 victory and Hotchkiss. The team has also had close games against Exeter (4-9) and Andover (8-9).

“All the team’s starting players have been playing for at least three years at Williston, so the team has had a lot of time to develop” says captain Sam Haddad.

“The last few years we have had a lot of new players,” said Head Coach Bill Berghoff. “Now we’ve got a nice core of seniors who have been playing together for 3 or 4 years.”

The seniors on the team are Jason Albanese, Eric Albanese, Conrad Kang, Gavin Klein, Hal Stuart, and Shogo Kamei. Juniors include: Liam Coughlin, Nathan Shatz, Rayyan Al Romaih.

On the team’s newfound success, senior captain Shogo Kamei said, “this year we’re pretty good so our goal is to go to New England’s.”

Only the top five teams in the league with a winning record get to go to the New England tournament and the boys team has never qualified in the program’s history. “If we’re going to get there, we need to beat Suffield and Loomis,” said Shogo.