The Columbia men’s water polo team won the New York Division title for the second time in four years on Sunday as it beat Army, 7-4, at West Point. The victory earned the club a spot at nationals, which will be held in Ohio in two weeks.
The victory over Army came after wins over Syracuse and NYU. According to co-captain Joe Matuk, the matchup with Syracuse was a “much needed warmup game,” and the Lions won it, 8-6. After the win, the team was matched up against its rival, NYU. A goal by Nuno Oliveira put Columbia ahead to start the game and for good, as it won, 9-7.
Columbia’s final matchup was against an Army club that was playing in its home pool in front of its home crowd. Just like it did against NYU, the fourth-seeded Columbia team took the lead early and held it throughout the game.
“We were definitely the underdog coming into this tournament, but this is a team unlike I have ever played with before in terms of talent and cohesiveness,” Matuk said in an e-mail.
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