The Facebook is a full-blown phenomenon on college campuses throughout the country. It does everything from connecting high school friends to building a large number of contacts for the future. At Marquette, the Facebook united a little more than a dozen players in the fight to start a Water Polo club team.

At least that's how Michael Leuchtmann, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, says an upstart group of water polo players came together.

"Last year some people did it for fun," Leuchtmann said. "It started with a group on Facebook and a couple of scrimmages. This year (a student) put the paper work in and we are waiting for approval now."

Leuchtmann said water polo is a growing sport in the Midwest and throughout the country and believes it would be valuable for Marquette to have a club water polo team.

"A lot of the people that come to our practices had great experiences playing water polo in high school or in other clubs. I know when I came here I was very disappointed there was not a water polo team here."

So, Leuchtmann and a few friends got to work. Another water polo player and integral part of this upstart bunch is Kevin Vincent, a sophomore in the College of Engineering. Vincent looked into possible leagues and funding opportunities for the group.

"We would probably join the Collegiate Water Polo Association," Vincent said. "There are a couple of teams from Minnesota and Northern Illinois there and that would be the best fit. Although we are a co-ed team right now and that might have to change if we join."

Leuchtmann and Vincent both said the biggest current obstacle for the team is money. They are missing basic essentials like regulation balls and goals. However they plan on holding fundraisers for the team after they attain their club team status.

"Money is the biggest problem right now," Leuchtmann said. "We need to come up with a budget and a constitution as well."

Vincent added that getting the word out about this team is tough.

"We need to have a meeting where we can spread the word about the team," Vincent said.

That meeting is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Alumni Memorial Union. However people interested in attending should contact Leuchtmann or Vincent via e-mail before showing up. The team practices on Monday in the Helfaer Recreational Center between 7:30 and 9:00 p.m.

Football shellacked by DuPage

Marquette's club football team suffered its second loss in as many weeks at the hands of College of DuPage.

They were wiped out 40-0 on Sunday. Charlie Webber, the team's captain and starting middle linebacker said the team would just head back to the drawing board in preparation for its next game.

"We were out-sized in this game," Webber said. "They had 11 people on their roster over 300 pounds. We just couldn't compete with that."

Webber said he was pleased the team hung on the first quarter with DuPage, giving up only a field goal. However two long pass plays in the second quarter broke the game wide open, and DuPage never looked back. Webber said his team would just move on from the game and focus entirely on the next opponent.

"We didn't stop fighting and I was real proud of that," Webber said. "Size was the difference. We gave a good effort and we will take that with us into the next game."

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 4, 2005.