Men's Water Polo Q&A: Chris Dilworth

Chris Dilworth, a senior center on the Pepperdine men's water polo team, leads the Waves in goals with 27 through the first 11 games of the 2018 season. He tells us about his four years at Pepperdine and what he's appreciated about his time here:

Q: What are your expectations for your senior year?

A: For the team, I think we're going to definitely be solid. We have a lot of young guys. We're all in the process of meshing and figuring out how each other are playing right now, but it all comes down to our end-of-year tournament. That's the only thing that really matters now, so we're really just trying to prepare for that tournament and get everybody together and on the same page and as cohesive as a unit as possible. For me personally, I just want to be the best leader and best teammate I can be. I don't really have any specific goals or accolades that I want to meet, per se, I just want to be the best player, leader, and teammate I can be.

Q: Being a senior, in what ways are you trying to be a leader?

A: For me it means leading by example and just trying to provide the best example for those younger guys, both in and out of the water, whether that be school or personal life. In the water, as far as the X's and O's of the game.

Q: Being local – from Thousand Oaks – why did you choose Pepperdine?

A: Obviously the location is just beautiful, but more so just the community. This term is kind of thrown around all over the place around Pepperdine and especially in the Athletics Department, but there's the idea of family. I truly felt and still do feel that our team, and the Athletics Department as a whole, is a family and for me it just felt right.

Q: What has it been like playing for this prominent coaching staff?

A: Merrill (Moses), Terry (Schroeder), and Mike (Tragitt) are all great people and it's awesome to get the opportunity to play under people who have been so successful. I find, myself, that there can be a little bit of pressure for me to perform, specifically playing for Terry because we play the same position and so I feel that he pushes me to be the absolute best I can be and I feel pressure to perform it at my best. But you know, they've truly helped me become the player I am today. All the props to them because I would definitely would not be as successful if it weren't for them.

Q: What has your experience been throughout your four years here at Pepperdine? Within water polo, within the community – how has it shaped you?

A: I played freshman year, I played a lot of minutes. I got the opportunity to do that. And then my sophomore year I had surgery on both of my hips, so I was out for that whole year and honestly that was pretty hard on me, but looking back on it, I can see the benefits. It gave me a lot of time to be more of a spectator of the game and learn a lot from the outside and I think it helped me to learn a lot more about the game, about myself as a player. Not being able to practice or play – it's hard on you when you see all of your teammates just grinding in and out every single day, and so I think that that pushes me to continue to go hard and continue to practice even when I don't really want to. Last year I played a lot of good minutes. I came back from being injured and that was a boost to me – it just reaffirmed that I came back and am able to play and now I'm just super stoked to be able to perform at my highest level. But I definitely think that sophomore year changed how I play and how I act toward the game of water polo.

Q: What's your favorite memory while playing at Pepperdine?

A: I'd definitely say the 2016 GCC Championships. That was my sophomore year when I wasn't playing, but I traveled and we beat Pacific. The energy on the bench and in the water was just unreal and everybody was just so happy, and for me, even though I wasn't in the water, I still felt like I was a part of it.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?

A: I want to get into law enforcement.

Q: What are you looking forward to most during the rest of your senior year?

A: I think just to come to the end of the season and see how far everybody else has come and see the rewards for all of the hard work you put into the whole season. I think that we are going to end up being really successful and I'm just excited to see the outcome.

Players Mentioned

Chris Dilworth

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