At 9:30 a.m. last Saturday, when most Penn students were not even halfway done sleeping off their late night, there was a little-known tournament going on at Pottruck that involved fast kicking, bloody noses and huge point margins.
The second annual West Philly Shootout, a tournament organized by Penn water polo coach Chris Lee and his players, brought teams from Notre Dame, Penn State, Colgate, the University of Richmond, Lawrenceville and DC Metro to campus.
"Last year, the captains helped put this together, and this year we just decided to do it again because it worked really well," Lee, a fifth-year Engineering senior, said.
"We start practicing in November and it's hard to practice for two months without competing."
The water polo program as a whole has made significant developments in just the past five years, in large part due to Lee, who will coach the women's team for the fifth-straight season this spring.
"The team has doubled in size, and in terms of skill and ability, we have really improved," senior captain Oveida Norris said.
Lee said that the team finished in the bottom half of the Mid-Atlantic Division his freshman year, his first year as the Penn coach, and moved all the way up to second place last season.
This type of improvement in such a small window seems like it should be the masterful work of a seasoned gray-haired veteran coach, not one the same age as his players.
"I thought it would be weird at first because I had only had teachers or older coaches," sophomore goalie Brigit Lawrence-Gomez said. "But he's played for a while, he has the experience so age isn't really a factor."
Lee began his water polo career in Salt Lake City, where his team consistently ranked among the top in the state, taking home the state title his sophomore year.
The coach said he had little interest in an intensive water polo program in college.
"I just didn't want to put in the time for a varsity team," Lee said. "I was going to be busy studying so I didn't want to have to worry about practicing twice per day."
"That was a pretty big factor as to why I chose Penn. I definitely wanted to continue to play, and I knew they had a club team here, which makes it easier to play."
Lee said he did not come to Penn thinking of coaching, but found himself with the opportunity after Penn's previous coach went abroad for a semester during his freshman year.
This new appointment put Lee in the potentially awkward position of ordering players around who were already four years deep in the program.
"That was the hardest part, trying to tell people that are older than me what to do," Lee said. "But for the most part they were pretty good about it. They knew that I was the coach and they gave me that respect."
Penn players said Lee's age does not usually interfere with the intensity of practices.
"I came in thinking it would be relaxed because it's club, but he does a good job and really motivates the team," Norris said.
"Sometimes it takes a little longer to get in the pool because we're chatting, but when we're in, everyone is really focused," Lawrence-Gomez said.
Between playing on the men's team in the fall and coaching the women's team in the spring, Lee certainly has a full schedule.
Still, the women's coach said he does not regret making such a time commitment.
"I treat it with as much commitment as I do school work." Lee said.
"The best way to learn the game is through coaching it."
Lee will have to pull out all the stops this spring season, as the Quakers are looking at a different game plan than they grown accustomed to over the last several years.
This will be Penn's first season after losing graduate student Fabiana Eggers, who also played for the Brazillian National team.
"This year everyone is equally strong," Lawrence-Gomez said. "It's more about coming together as a unit."
The first step toward unification was the Pottruck tournament, and although the Quakers were not able to pull out a preseason victory, the general improvement in team play as the weekend went on was obvious.
"The improvement that has happened is amazing," Norris said. "As a team we're really coming together, learning each other's games and bonding well."
"We have definitely been getting a lot better, and that's a trend I would like to continue," Lee said. "And we've got a good team this year so I don't think it's out of reach for us."
