BROOKLYN N.Y. — St. Francis College Brooklyn is posting a a series of interviews with St. Francis men’s water polo players by journalist Michael Randazzo as the Terriers prepare to open the 2018 season at Brown University’s Bruno Classic on Saturday, September 1 against Pepperdine University.
As goes Botond Kadar, so goes St. Francis men’s water polo. Kadar is ready for his final season in Brooklyn Heights, and this bodes well for his team’s fortunes. An exceptionally skillful attacker and savvy defender in the pool, he’s articulate and knowledgeable out of it—and optimistic that 2018 will be a banner year for the Terriers.
Swimming World’s Michael Randazzo spoke to Kadar on the St. Francis pool deck at the start of practices for the 2018 season.
– How did you spend your summer?
I was practicing and getting ready for the season. I’m really happy to be back.
– What are you and your teammates looking forward to for the upcoming season?
We have a lot of good guys coming [this season]. We’re much deeper now. We have more than 20 people on our roster which is unheard of when you look back at the previous years. It’s a great leap [forward] thanks to Coach Bora.
In the past, everyone who came here—a spot on the team was practically granted to them. Now we have competition for a few places on the roster. We’re pushing each other to the limit every single practice.
Last year some of the younger guys had to step in, and with that we got better as a unit. They gained experience which they can use this season. Ultimately, these things are going to make us a much better team this season.
– You lost 2017 starting goalie Finn Dories. The Terriers are likely to have enough offensive firepower to play with anyone in the East but what will your defense look like?
We have another incredible goalie in Benedek [Molnar]. He and I played together in club [back in Budapest]. He was also a member of the Hungarian 18U national team that won a world championship. So, we’ve gotten better on that end of the pool.
Viktor [Klauzer, junior St. Francis goalie] has also become a really good goalie these past few years. I expect great things from both of Viktor and Benedek. Then again, it’s going to be a healthy competition between them.
What’s going to be a key emphasis this year is—and coach has already talked about it several times—we have to outwork our competition. Not just on the offensive end but on defense.
We’re going to be physical; we’re not going to let anything easy come to our opponents.
– What will it take to get the Terriers back to NCAAs?
Now is still a learning phase for us with the new guys who are coming in. We’re just trying to figure out how to do things as a unit.
The offense won’t be a problem. Defensively we have to learn each other’s tendencies—how can we work best together.
– The team got a boost last year from younger players, including sophomore Alex Teplitsky.
Alex is a great example; he’s a guy who comes in and works hard day-in and day-out. And you can see the results. In his first year, he barely got any playing time, but last year he contributed to our success, coming up clutch in several games.
Now we have a lot of good players coming in and I can’t emphasize this enough: some of these guys can be really big [for us]. I’m really excited to play with them in my last year here.
I think we’re finally in a position to win the East and qualify for the NCAA tournament. That’s our goal and that’s what we’re training for.
– With that goal comes expectations; how will you and your teammates manage those?
Last year we only had one senior, which is really fortunate for us. This year we have four seniors, including me.
We are ready now for the challenge. Last year we grew into a really good team—and a more dangerous team than the year before.
Injuries cut our season short, but this year there are no excuses. We’ve got to win.
– What do you expect for yourself coming this season?
This is my last year. I just want to enjoy the ride. We’re going to work really hard this season, but at the end of the day we’re all friends here.
I love being here because we all enjoy it and want to achieve our goal.
Release courtesy St. Francis College Brooklyn Athletics Communications
