Kyle Gertridge is sure making a splash this season. A senior captain from Palo Alto, Calif, Gertridge has led the men's water polo team this year to a couple of huge victories over top-ranked teams. Last Friday, he led his team in assists and steals by helping them beat George Washington University 10-4.
Gertridge started swimming competitively his freshman year at Henry M. Gunn High School, which is the same year he started playing water polo. He chose to pursue water polo because of his admiration for the sport and dislike for competitive swimming.
"After my freshman year in high school, [water polo] was all I did year round," Gertridge said.
He compares the sport to Hopkins's most popular sport, lacrosse.
"[Water polo] is the best sport on the planet, no doubt," he said.
"Lacrosse is cool, but on the west coast and Europe, water polo reigns king."
Gertridge's favorite part of water polo is the challenging physical aspects of the sport.
"I love the intensity of the game play and the fact that every game is a battle to both perform well technically and tip-toe on the line of complete physical exhaustion," Gertridge said.
"It is undoubtedly the most physically demanding team sport in the world."
Gertridge plays the driver position for the Jays. This entails playing on the outside of the offense and shooting from the outside. He believes his key strengths make up for the fact that he is undersized compared to most other drivers in the NCAA. His greatest strengths include his knowledge of the game and solid fundamental skills. He attributes this to great coaching in both high school and college.
Gertridge said his head coach, Ted Bresnahan, has played a key role in his development as a player and the team's success. "He's 100 percent honest and a part of our family. He brings the team together when we really need it," Gertridge said.
Gertridge's favorite part of being on the team is team bonding. He quickly recognized how important the "team" unit was upon his first visit to Hopkins. He came to Hopkins for academics, he said, but he really enjoyed the players on the team and knew that Hopkins was where he belonged.
"We are a big family, the whole team. Players, coach, even PJ and Elen," he said. PJ and Elen are Bresnahan's son and wife.
Gertridge admires many of his teammates, especially a former alum from his high school.
"I look up to an old alum and former Gunn High graduate Brian Mead who was a former Division III player of the year, and an animal in his day. The man is a legend where I am from," he said.
An economics major, Gertridge spends most of his time out of the pool hanging out with friends. He enjoys playing the electric blues guitar and video games.
"Kyle's dance moves are really what set him apart from the other players on the east coast," senior Reid Fox said about his teammate. "He also always dominates me in FIFA on the Xbox, which I hate. I always have to buy him sandwiches because he beats me 5-0, which is a five dollar foot-long," Fox said.
Gertridge's other roommate, Peter Sauerhoff, adds that Gertridge has helped the team succeed.
"Our goal all along has been to get to the final game at Easterns," Sauerhoff said. "We'll accomplish this by using all the time we have in practice, by giving 100 percent in everything we do and by utilizing the depth of our team in every game to dominate anyone who stands in our way. Kyle Gertridge has been clutch all season."
