MONMOUTH, Ill. — Buoyed by a returning all-conference performer, Monmouth College men’s water polo coach Peter Ollis is making a balanced offense his team’s top priority as the Fighting Scots enter their sixth season as a varsity program.
“We could focus on one player getting all the goals, but that’s happened in the past with poor team results,” said Ollis. “For team success, we’ll have to get scoring from a variety of players. We have five freshmen on the team and a couple of veterans back who were injured last year, so we do have a bit of a learning curve. It’s not so much of a learning curve because of youth, but because we have players from five states, so the vernacular is a little different. For some of them, it’s almost like learning a new language, but we’re getting everyone on the same page.”
Senior Josh Hall (Prospect Heights, Ill./Hersey) etched his name in the Scots’ record book last season, becoming just the second player to earn all-conference honors. With 82 goals, he’s No. 2 on Monmouth’s all-time scoring list after pumping in 32 as a junior. Another offensive force – junior Kurt Holzer (Deerfield, Ill./Stevenson) – was the Scots’ No. 3 scorer last season when he fired in 23 net-finders to rank sixth all-time with 45 goals.
“We play in a league where building around one or two guys makes it very easy to defend,” said Ollis. “Jake and Kurt are great shooters and are a big part of what we’ll do, but we need to move the ball and get scoring from all around the pool. Kurt can pull the defense with him and open some lanes for other shooters. We’re looking at having a number of guys in the pool who could score at any given time.”
Alejandro Altamirano (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben Metro) joins Hall as the lone seniors on the squad and is another player who Ollis is counting on to provide more scoring after posting 12 goals and 11 assists a season ago.
“Alejandro’s position is comparable to a point guard in basketball, although we’d like to see more scoring out of him this year,” said Ollis. “He’s been working hard at it and we’re both anxious to see him put the ball in the back of the net.”
Other offensive weapons include juniors Tommy Schneider (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and Jared Hankinson (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) and left-handed freshman Quentin Bartram (Dublin, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne).
“Tommy and Jared have had tremendous college careers over their first two seasons,” said Ollis. “They’ve been huge for us defensively and should now be ready to take that next step on the offensive end. As a big lefthander, Quentin should be an impact player.”
On the defensive end, opposing offenses may have a tough time getting the ball past big freshman goalkeeper Kyle Jones (Parkland, Fla./Stoneman Douglas), a rookie who can more than fill the net.
“He’s a big pick up for us,” said Ollis of Jones. “It all starts with the goalie. We’re expecting him to be a big part of getting the up-tempo offense going. We have great speed on this team and probably the fastest group since I came in four years ago. It’s an asset we want to use, and getting a fast break starts with a good defense. We’ll be aggressive on defense and open it up on transition.”
Ollis may not have to rely on Jones to make a record-setting number of saves. Instead, the veteran coach is counting on his long-armed team to limit the opposition’s chances.
“We have a very long, tall squad,” smiled Ollis when looking at the defensive end of the pool. “It’s going to be these tall guys creating havoc on defense. We’ll push on defense and not give any easy shots. Our goal is to be much more physical. We have the size. We’ve got to establish our tempo and our will. The key will be for us to get comfortable within our system.”
The Scots won’t have any easy matches on their schedule, playing a rugged slate that includes facing a majority of Division II programs. With nearly half his squad comprised of freshmen who will be in key positions, Ollis is counting on his rookies to up their game.
“We’ll probably have at least two freshmen in the pool at any one time,” predicted Ollis. “We’ve got to make sure they’re all incorporated into the team, on the same page and comfortable with their roles. I’m sure we’ll have some growing pains, but all mistakes are fixable with this talent. We’re young with a lot of potential. That makes it exciting to see just where we can end up.”
Release courtesy Monmouth College Athletics Communications
