With ten seniors and five returning all Inter-Ac athletes, the team’s season is shaping up to be one of the best in school history.

As of the first week of September, varsity Water Polo has played one scrimmage and three games. Their record is 4-0, winning each by a dominant differential of ten goals.

Coach Jay Schiller loves his team’s performances on both sides of the pool.

“It’s a big indication of how strong our defense is, and also how much talent we have on the offensive side of the ball,” Schiller said.

Over the past few seasons, Malvern water polo has been very successful in the Inter-Ac league, winning five straight league titles, most of them outright.

The team this season has a strong senior class, and the players voted five seniors to be captains. Those seniors are Isaac Salinas, Steve Salle, Sean Oates, Jack Leyden, and Seamus Glynn.

“The senior class is an amazing group,” Schiller said.  “Everyone looked at this class and didn’t see one standout leader, so we rotate the role of captain for each game.”

The system seems to be working for the players, and captain Isaac Salinas is in favor of having five captains.

“Having five captains allows us to have more control over team,” Salinas said. “We lead by each taking responsibility for different aspects, such as a stretching leader, swim leader, etc.”

Salinas has been an outstanding player for Malvern water polo. He scored 100 goals last season and currently holds the record for most goals in four seasons. The previous record was 227, and Salinas has 242 with the rest of this season to add on to that total.

Hoping to keep the energy high throughout the team, the five captains and the coaches have set high goals for this season.

“Our goal is an 8-0 Inter-Ac record to win the league outright, and win Easterns,” Salinas said.

The farthest Malvern has gotten in the Eastern tournament is a second place championship finish. The team hopes they can exceed what any Malvern water polo team has accomplished in this tournament, and come home with a championship.

Looking ahead, the team is most excited for the Haverford game, who has also been a successful team in past years.

“We are certainly excited for all the Inter-Ac games, especially the Haverford School who is clipping at our heels for a second place contender,” Schiller said.

The team is also looking forward to participating in the Beast of the East tournament, which this year is expecting to host 64 teams along the East coast.

“The farthest Malvern has ever gone in Beast of the East is a fourth place finish,” Schiller said. “Hopefully we are seeded top 8 so we can be the top seed in our flight, and hopefully win the flight which will put us in the championship.”