2012 W&J Men's Water Polo Preview
Head Coach Jay O’Neil was selected as the CWPA Division III Women’s Coach of the Year during the spring season and gets his first crack with the Washington & Jefferson College men’s program this fall. O’Neil, the Presidents’ third head coach in the past four seasons, looks to bring stability to a program searching for its first winning season since 2004.
The Presidents must replace two-time All-American Andy Rish, but plenty of talent returns for W&J which has one of its largest rosters in recent years with 23 players, including nine freshmen.
Senior Cameron Chaves will lead the scoring attack after netting 33 goals a year ago. Chaves has proved to be a consistent scorer after firing in 32 goals as a sophomore. Classmates Joey Weiland and Alex Shuey are proven veterans who added 16 and 12 goals, respectively, last fall. Weiland sat out his sophomore year with an injury and hopes to surpass his standout freshman season (31 goals, 14 assists).
The Presidents’ sophomore duo of Carl Krause and Mike Magdic will also be counted on to provide offensive firepower following 27-goal rookie seasons. Krause was also third on the squad with 16 assists, while Magdic drew the second-highest kickout total on the squad with 26.
Junior Dan Francisco has seen a majority of the action in goal for the Presidents the past two years and has accumulated 242 career saves. Sophomore Chris DeNunzio is also back after starting eight matches and producing 80 saves.
O’Neil will also rely on senior Mike Johnson, a steady and reliable player the last three years. Johnson compiled seven goals, 13 assists and 17 steals last season after contributing 19 goals and nine assists in 2010. Juniors Brendan Lesniak and Nick Thorneloe and sophomores Conor Crowe, Justin Brier, Sam Taylor and Ben Mancini all provide O’Neil with solid depth.
