Navy’s Nicolao Wonders What Might Have Been if not for March COVID-19 Outbreak

One of the most colorful—and direct—coaches in American water polo, U.S. Naval Academy men’s head coach Luis Nicolao still can’t get over the sequence of events that turned what appeared to be a great opportunity for the Midshipmen to go NCAAs for the first time in a decade into a disaster.

Navy, in its third year under Nicolao, had shown (relatively) significant improvement from the previous campaign in 2019, when the Middies finished 16-13 and in third place in the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championships. With a 6-1 record—their only loss coming in overtime to reigning MAWPC champs Bucknell—the Middies were set to host the 2021 championships for the first time since 2017 and were favored to represent the East in the men’s national tournament for the first time since 2008—the program’s longest-ever absence from NCAAs.

Then—as has happened all over the country—COVID-19 intervened. An outbreak on the campus forced the last-minute cancellation of many sporting activities—including water polo—and left the CWPA scrambling for a solution.

[Win or Lose, MAWPC Championship a Victory for La Salle Men in Program’s Finale]

Bucknell took up tournament responsibilities, albeit in a limited fashion. Only two other teams were allowed on campus, leaving the CWPA in the unenviable position of narrowing a field that had once been six teams to three. (That went well for the Bison, who qualified for the 2021 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Tournament with a 11-3 win over La Salle).

In an interview last week, Nicolao expressed his feelings about losing a shot at hosting and how much progress his team has made since his arrival from Princeton in 2018.

- Your team not only does not get to host the MAWPC championship, you don’t get to compete for what was a pretty straight shot for an NCAA berth.

It was rough because we didn’t see it coming. The Mid were given liberty two weekends before that which created the outbreak.

What was hard for us is it happened so fast and basketball was allowed to play but cross country and us were left in the dark. I don’t think anyone thought of us until the next morning and then it was a scramble and it was too late…

Next you know, wrestling’s competing and swimming’s competing. It was a bad sequence of circumstances. I don’t blame anybody; it was just COVID. Nobody’s ready for this.

I felt bad about the tournament. We were supposed to host—and I know Barry and some other coaches were upset—nobody was going to host more than 2 – 3 teams on their campus. We were having a hard time; we were fighting all through January and February to get two teams for one day here, let alone overnight.

I know there was some animosity towards Dan [Sharadin] and the league but what did people expect him to do? Nobody was letting more teams come.

Bucknell wasn’t going to allow eight teams on campus.

McKendree was upset—I get it—[but] it was a unique year. Us pulling the plug a week before championships really messed things up.

- There’s no redshirting at the Academy, so some of your players lost out on a chance at NCAAs because they’ll graduate in May.

I felt bad for our seniors but I said: Guys, how can we get upset about a six-game season? This wasn’t 25 games and something happened. It wasn’t like we were going to be hanging a banner from the ceiling and popping off fireworks.

- The reality is the athletes you’re bringing in now mean the future for Navy polo is very bright.

Under normal circumstances, we were going to be ready this year. Last year we had Bucknell down by two in the fourth quarter; the kids we’re bringing in were ready to compete for championships—and at the national level. I’ve always thought that Navy is a program that can do that, with its resources and its commitment to water polo.

When I was at Princeton, Mike [Schofield] didn’t win every year but he was in the mix. I think that will be the same for Navy.