Villanova is climbing the ranks in women’s water polo and looking to solidify its dominance

Villanova isn’t an expected name when it comes to top collegiate water polo programs.

But a strong national reputation is what Michael Gordon has aimed to establish since he took over as women’s head coach in 2023. In some ways, Gordon’s vision is already coming to fruition as Villanova won 20 games in the regular season and moves onto the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday.

Villanova (20-8, 7-1 MAAC) is No. 2 in the conference and will start the postseason against Wagner (13-12, 6-2).

“Over the last few years, there’s been some people who have been around the sport for a long time that have seen us play,” Gordon said. “They’ve come up to me and said, ‘Wow, I didn’t know Villanova could play like this.’ We’re building a great thing here, and great student-athletes that we’ve brought into the system. We want to continue to climb up the rankings and make a difference in the water polo world.”

While Gordon strives to make the program well-known in the water polo community, he’s also been tasked with generating enthusiasm for the sport on Villanova’s campus. The school initiated its varsity women’s team in 1998. Gordon, who graduated from Villanova in 2006, was a member of the men’s club water polo team.

“We have a really good home record [23-5] in my coaching career so far, and a big part of that is the fan base and the support we have at Villanova,” Gordon said. “I love inviting down people in the athletic department who haven’t seen a game. They’re thrilled and they’re impressed with the sport.”

Villanova and MAAC rival La Salle are the only colleges to sponsor Division I water polo in the Philadelphia area. Every member of Villanova’s 19-player roster was recruited from out of state. Twelve players are from California, a hot spot for the sport, and two are from Hawaii.

“Sometimes it’s funny when people don’t think water polo is a very serious sport because they’ve never heard of it,” senior goalkeeper Gracin Kerry said. “You kind of have to explain. My go-to line is that it’s like soccer in the pool, but with basketball formation.”

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While players offer a simple explanation for the sport, water polo training is grueling, and the collegiate level requires elite discipline and physical strength.

“People that don’t play water polo and have never seen it don’t understand how tough of a sport it is,” Gordon said. “We try to explain to people that our ‘rest’ is treading water. We can do that for a three-hour practice. And it blows people away when I tell them that. You’re swimming up and down the pool, getting pushed, dragged, elbowed, kicked, scratched, and all that stuff that goes on underwater.”

Gordon intentionally schedules matchups against the highest-ranked programs. This year’s schedule was even more challenging, including matchups with No. 3 Southern California and No. 12 Harvard. The Wildcats competed against eight nationally ranked opponents, claiming upsets over No. 25 California State Northridge and No. 20 Wagner.

Defeating Cal State Northridge, 11-10, on March 5 on the road was especially meaningful for the team, and a rare opportunity to have most of the squad’s families in attendance. Sophomore attacker Riley Hull scored the winning goal in the final two minutes.

“It was an amazing, back-and-forth game, and one of the highlights of the season,” Hull said. “We were tied going into the fourth period, and we all turned to each other and said, ‘There is no way we’re losing this game.’ We won, and it was awesome.”

Villanova’s underdog mentality has been a source of fuel throughout the season. The team is led by three senior captains: Kerry, center Ella Mattocks, and attacker Anna Painter.

“[Mattocks] has been a really big glue piece for our team,” Gordon said. “She likes to have fun, and she’s become an unstoppable force at center. She really forces other teams to game plan for her ability to hold position and draw execution fouls for us, to put us on the power play, or get the ball and put it away for us.”

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Kerry added: “We know that [the conference tournament] is an opportunity of a lifetime for us. We’ve improved so much in the last two years that we didn’t have this opportunity to even go to the conference championship two years ago. So now that we’re the second seed, we’re taking it and running with it.”

At the beginning of this season, the seniors initiated a retreat to establish goals and bond as a team. According to Kerry and Hull, the camaraderie and new tradition has led to Villanova’s unprecedented success.

While most team members traveled across the country to continue playing water polo, they were also drawn to Villanova because of its strong academic standing. Women’s water polo boasts the highest GPA among Villanova’s sports teams, averaging 3.799 in the fall semester. Seven players on the team are studying civil engineering, and three are pre-med students.

As water polo gains popularity in the region, Gordon has not had to look far to find promising players during the recruiting process.

“We have a recruit for next year who is from the Philly area, and we see her and her teammates come to our games,” Kerry said. “The sport is really growing, and we have three teams in our conference that are now ranked. So California schools aren’t just here to dominate anymore. East Coast schools are getting in there, too.”