By ZACH ROBBINS Staff Writer
This weekend the Hopkins water polo team traveled to New London, Conn. where they won their 16th Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) D-III Championship. Senior co-captain Kevin Yee led the way for the Blue Jays, scoring four, three and three points in the tournament, respectively. His five goals and five assists of the weekend along with the rest of his play was enough to earn the driver the tournament MVP.
The water polo co-captain was kind enough to talk with The News-Letter about his performance this weekend and the remainder of the season.
News-Letter: What does earning tournament MVP mean for you personally? Kevin Yee: It’s a great honor to receive the tournament MVP, and I’m thankful to the coaches of the tournament who decided to give it to me. To be honest, there are three or four guys on my team that are deserving of the award just as much as I am. Everyone on the team contributed to our success in the tournament and no one could do it alone which is why I’m especially thankful to my teammates and coaches for helping me win my final D-III Eastern tournament.
N-L: What type of expectations does the team have when going in to a tournament with a No. 1 seed, and how can these expectations affect your play? KY: As the No. 1 seed it is easy to overlook some of the early round games, but Coach Ted made sure that we took Monmouth and Conn College seriously. Once we got to the championship, we knew we could beat MIT and beating them earlier in the season gave us confidence that we could do it again. It was not easy but I’m proud of the way the team, especially underclassmen, responded when we were losing in the second half.
N-L: The championship match was the second time you played MIT, as well as the second time you beat them this season. What is it like playing the same team multiple times? KY: Once you play the same team multiple times in the same year you get to know them well and they get to know you well. It goes even beyond that too. MIT’s three best players are all in my class which means we have been guarding each other for four years now. Typically, the team that wins is the one that has learned more from the past matchups. We worked on this a lot in practice last week and it showed in the game.
N-L: You helped the Jays outscore opponents 50-14 in the tournament. What can you contribute the team’s scoring ability to? KY: Over the last two weeks, we’ve spent a lot of time working on shooting about finishing goals when we have an advantage. Our team speed was able to counter attack consistently in all the tournament games, and we put away our shots when they were available.
The Jays continue their season in Lewisberg, Pa. as they look to take home another title, playing in the CWPA Southern Championship.
