Men's water polo's Roslyn comes east to learn West-Coast sport

Upon first impression, one can detect a certain "California" demeanor about senior Marshall Roslyn, but as soon as he starts talking about water polo, his focus is apparent.

As one of the co-captains of the men's water polo team, Roslyn's story is ironic in that he moved from the state known for breeding water polo players, California, to the East Coast where he actually learned to play the sport.

Roslyn grew up in California, and at the age of twelve, his family moved to Philadelphia. His involvement with water polo happened partly as an attempt to avoid boredom and also as the result of a persistent high school coach.

"I was a swimmer but once I moved back East I didn't swim a lot," he said. "I actually was running cross-country to train for basketball season, and the assistant coach of cross-country was the water polo coach, so that got me started."

Water polo was a natural match for Roslyn. He picked up the sport easily, earning a starting position by his first scrimmage in his freshman year of high school. He reversed the paradox of leaving California by returning, spending his preseason training in his home state that summer. Later, he trained with the YAA (Young Athletes of America) program at Villanova.

"My high school pool was like a dungeon. I mean, it was 25 yards long. In California, most high schools have pools that are 25 meters; and actually, in half of the pool you could stand [upright.]"

With so much disparity between the strength of water polo teams on the East and West coast schools, one might be tempted to wonder why, in the end, he chose to attend Princeton.

"I was being recruited by a few schools and Princeton just had the best combination of an academic environment and a great water polo team. I came here on a recruiting trip and was unsure about applying early, but I visited and the guys were great. [They] had a real bond and a lot of commitment to the team. I was sold. I went home and sent in my application," he said.

One of Roslyn's primary goals as co-captain this year is to provide that same sort of camaraderie between players. "I want [my experience] to happen to the new group of guys that come in."

For Roslyn, that sense of solidarity is very important for a team that is relatively young, with only two seniors and four juniors.

Even as last season was winding down, he had already begun to think of this year.

"I guess last year we had two losses, at the end of the season, to teams we'd beaten every other time so that was disappointing, but I was already thinking about this year. We have the same nucleus as in the past — definite scoring and defensive threats — but the team chemistry wasn't there. We had lots of talent but not a lot of team chemistry, so I knew we needed to pull together."

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More so than in years past, Roslyn understands his change in role as a driving force to provide team bonding.

"This year, I have much more of a leadership role, but there's definitely a need for that — both in and out of the water."

Roslyn's focused dedication is apparent not only in his devotion to Princeton's team but also to the sport as a whole. He planned on playing this past summer in the Maccabi Games in Israel but opted to work in Los Angeles instead due to the volatile situation in the Middle East.

Roslyn mentions that one of his fondest memories of playing at Princeton, interestingly enough, has nothing to do with water polo, but is the fact that the team won title of Intramural Basketball Champions.

"We beat football," he remarked.

In his early years on the team, he mentions that he was young and inexperienced. His high school team was not that competitive and he was unsure of what to expect playing at Princeton.

"When I first came, it was tough since a lot of the guys were just one year ahead of me and it was more 'their' team," he said.

As a player, he believes that his strengths rely on his good pool sense as well as his defensive skills.

If the Tigers are to build on their early season success, both Roslyn's skills and his intangible qualities will be essential.