John Tanner celebrating Stanford’s 2019 NCAA championship. Photograph: Catharyn Hayne
There are two factors that contradict this interpretation, nonetheless. First is that Vargas’ colleague, Cardinal ladies’s head coach John Tanner, has not had any issues constructing NCAA water polo winners. In 24 years on The Farm, Tanner has delivered seven nationwide championships. The present Cardinal staff, ranked on the high of the CWPA polls, is a favourite for yet one more NCAA title.
The opposite push-back in opposition to the concept solely Individuals can acquire admission at our nation’s high universities is Harvard’s and Princeton’s latest polo success. On Harvard’s present roster is Mot Stothart, a sophomore from Barcelona who performed highschool polo at Harvard-Westlake. Additionally, Andrej Basica, who grew up and performed polo in Serbia, was a big contributor for the Crimson on this, his first 12 months in Cambridge. The Crimson have certified for NCAAs in three of their previous 5 seasons of competitors, together with a 29-win marketing campaign in 2019.
The Tigers make a good stronger case for an inflow of foreign-born polo athletes succeeding at elite U.S. educational establishments. Final season, Princeton fielded six polo gamers from abroad, with freshman Roko Pozaric, a prospect for the Croatian senior nationwide staff, serving to Head Coach Dustin Litvak’s staff declare a 2021 NCAA males’s quarterfinals spot.
[A Big Splash In An Unfamiliar Pool]
Becoming a member of Pozaric—who earned 2021 Northeast Water Polo Convention 1st Workforce honors—within the water had been freshman Vladan Mitrovic, a Serbian whose brother Vojilsav is the Tigers’ all-time saves chief; junior Antonio Knez, additionally from Croatia, who will probably be Princeton’s beginning goalie subsequent season; and Joan Coloma, a gifted attacker from Barcelona.
Not solely has this quartet succeed at Princeton polo—Harry Moross, an attacker from England, and Matej Sekulic, Serbian-born, however U.S. educated are on the squad—proved decisive within the Tigers quest for achievement, Litvak has mentioned that his foreign-born athletes are as motivated as any American to excel within the classroom. He affirmed that foreign-born athletes worth the tutorial alternatives an Ivy League establishment gives, and particularly selected Princeton as a result of there’s life after water polo.
Which brings us again to Vargas, a water polo lifer who will now have lots of free time on his fingers. He’s submitted his last exams to his former employer; Stanford’s recruiting class is full, and—maybe coincidentally—incorporates Jack Merrill, one of many first East Coast athletes to achieve admission to Cardinal Polo throughout Vargas’ tenure. Merrill can also be a member of the Canadian junior nationwide staff and has spent the previous couple of months coaching with a Hungarian membership.
It’s attainable that the quintessential American—representing his nation as each participant and coach—waited till the top of his tenure to alter his recruiting methods, then determined it wasn’t value it. Very similar to the principle character in “Being John Malkovich,” we’ll possible by no means know what Vargas actually thinks.
CORRECTION: Tony Azevedo performed at Stanford from 2001 – 2004, profitable NCAA titles in his freshman and sophomore years.
