Joseph Moorman, sophomore political science major, defends the goal during a match against Concordia University at the Lancer Invite, ending in a 9-7 win for the Lancers. Katey Lee | Banner
California Baptist University’s men’s water polo team has worked diligently to gain capable players for every position in the pool. They have added a record-breaking athlete in 6-foot-3 Joseph Moorman, whose wingspan has assisted in blocking numerous scoring attempts by opposing teams.
Moorman, sophomore political science major, is the goalkeeper and one of the many capable members who make up the men’s water polo team.
As a freshman, Moorman recorded 261 saves, which stands as the seventh highest record in single-season CBU history. Last year, he split time in the goal with another goalkeeper, only playing in 20 of the team’s 32 games.
Moorman is now making a bigger name for himself during his second year playing for CBU. He has already broken his own record — he has 285 saves this season with one month left for regular competition games before postseason begins.
He is no stranger to working hard and receiving awards. While attending high school at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, Moorman prepped for three varsity years. His time as a goalie in high school water polo earned him the California Interscholastic Federation Division II Water Polo Player of the Year in 2012. He was also named Big VIII League MVP Water Polo player of the year in the same year, in addition to Athlete of the Year in the Citrus Belt Conference in 2013.
Coming off an impressive high school career, Moorman is adding even more awards to his resume. One of his biggest accomplishments so far was being named an All-Western Water Polo Association honoree, being voted to the second team. He was also awarded the WWPA Player of the Week for his performance during the Lancer Invite Sept. 19-20.
Moorman said it was a surprise when he discovered he had been awarded the WWPA Player of the Week award, and it made him proud not of himself, but of the university as a whole.
“It was definitely a nice little surprise to see just the things that CBU has being doing and how the work has being paying off,” Moorman said.
Rick Rowland, head coach of the men’s water polo team, said Moorman and the entire team have been playing well with the intense competition they face on a regular basis..
“We get challenged every game, so we know we must play at a really high level, but at the end of the day it helps our guys,” Rowland said.
Rowland will be stepping down from the head coaching position at the conclusion of the men’s season. Moorman said being confronted with their coach leaving has been a push in the right direction.
“The biggest motivation that the whole team has on our mind is it is coach Rowland’s final season, and that it was a bit of a shock to us, but we want to do the best we can to win him a championship,” Moorman said.
