May 9, 2002
Participating in just their third season as a varsity sport the Red Foxes water polo team had their most successful season to date in 2002. Fielding a team laden with underclassmen talent, Marist pieced together a 4-22 record that included a 2-6 showing and sixth place finish in the New York Region of the Collegiate Water Polo Association's Northern Division.
The Red Foxes began the season with a flourish, notching wins in their first two contests including a school record 22 goals in a 22-3 win in the opener against Utica. After dropping consecutive games to national ranked Hartwick, Marist fell in a dual match at home against Arizona State. Next came the 2002 Marist Water Polo Innovational, where the Red Foxes fell to the like of St. Francis (NY) (12-3), Queens (13-12 OT), Iona (9-3), and Villanova (12-10).
During spring break, the team took a voyage out west to California and was defeated by established programs such as Whittier, MIT, Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Hayward, Occidental, and Chapman. During the trip Marist lost 9-8 decisions to both CS Hayward and to Chapman. The Red Foxes then closed out their regular season falling to Queens, Iona, Wagner and Saint Francis.
Marist then garnered a 10th place finish at the Northern Division Championships, by loosing matches to Harvard and Iona before earning an 18-2 victory over Utica that paired the Red Foxes against Connecticut College in the ninth place game. Marist trailed 7-2 early, but a late fourth quarter rally forced overtime where the team eventually came up on the short end of an 11-8 outcome.
In the first ever Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Water Polo Showcase at the James J. McCann Center Natatorium, the Red Foxes ended the 2002 campaign with an 8-3 loss to Iona and an 18-7 victory over Siena. Sophomore Alyson Fiorillo, who led the team with 62 goals on the season, totaled three in the showcase for Marist.
With another year of experience under their belts the Red Foxes continued to step in the right direction of establishing a solid water polo program at Marist. Without senior on the roster, head coach Christine Honig will not loose anyone from a team that was full of enthusiastic and competitive individuals as she hopes to carry on and advance this year's achievements to the upcoming seasons.
