Men's Water Polo Q&A: John Claude Marco

John Claude Marco is a redshirt senior men's water polo player at Pepperdine and the team's starting goalie. Marco, who is from Atherton, California, heads into the season's final weeks looking to help lead the team to a GCC championship and a deep NCAA Tournament run:

Q: As a senior you are coming up on your final water polo games. What have been your reflections or takeaways from your time with the water polo team here at Pepperdine?

A: My time here has been super weird. To start we had the fires freshman year, which was right in the middle of our season, and then COVID happened and threw a wrench into things. But it started to sink in that we've played our last home game, which is kind of crazy. I'm super thankful for the early years that I had because the older guys definitely made a strong impression on me. Even though it's been tough with COVID and the fires and whatnot, I hope that I have been able to make a lasting mark not only in the pool but with my teammates and especially the younger ones who I hope look up to me just as much as I look up to the seniors.

Q: You touched on how much you looked up to those older guys when you first came into this program. What kind of qualities or aspects did they have and how have you tried to reflect that in your own leadership?

A: The older guys definitely worked super hard and when it was time to have fun they had fun. When it was our day off and we went to the beach we made sure that we were all connected, we went to the beach, cracked jokes, we made fun of each other but all in love. I definitely think that those are the things, now that I'm a senior, that I try to showcase to the younger guys.

Q: How has your leadership style grown over the last four years?

A: On top of the fires my first year, the next year I broke my hand and then the next year I got hip surgery and didn't play for the year. This is basically my first full season back now, so I honestly feel like my leadership has just now started this year. Now is the first time I'm not only demanding myself to be good but I also have the responsibility to demand others to play well, and to practice well. But again it's very new to me since we just got back from COVID and my injuries.

Q: What have been some of the highlights from your career here at Pepperdine?

A: My first highlight is going to the NCAA Tournament, although we didn't perform as well as we wanted to. But to take a step backwards, the GCC Tournament was crazy awesome. Especially with it being at Pepperdine, that tournament win was so electric. To go back to the NCAA Tournament that whole month was amazing. We had to stay here for Thanksgiving and we couldn't go home, which was kind of bittersweet because you always want to be able to go home to see your family but honestly we had such a fun time with our teammates that I was fine with not being able to go home. I was fine with hanging out with my teammates almost 10 hours a day during our run.

Q: What has been the proudest moment for your individual performance?

A: I have one period that sticks out, we played Stanford my sophomore year and I think it was the loudest I ever heard the crowd get, besides the GCC win. I blocked a five-meter, and then they got another five-meter and I blocked it again, but a guy on our team said something to the ref so they got another one and I blocked it a third time in a row. The three five-meter blocks will forever be a crazy moment for me because that just rarely happens.

Q: What have been your favorite parts about Pepperdine outside of your time with the water polo team?

A: I didn't live with any water polo players so I was able to meet a lot of guys outside of my team through my roommates. It is tough when you're on a team and around the same group of guys so often to branch out but because I had my roommates I got to get together with them and their friends a lot, which was the best part of my experience at Pepperdine outside my team.

Q: There's a large group of seniors graduating this year. Would you like to say anything about what that group of guys mean to you or the sense of pride that you have for what you guys were able to accomplish in your years together?

A: Coleman is the only one who's my age, but the rest of the senior guys have been through so much alongside us. I give them a ton of credit, since the beginning they all stepped into huge roles very early on and have made a huge contribution to this team both in the water and outside. So definitely these are the friends that I am going to keep for life and a group of guys that I know will succeed moving forward.

Q: The season is coming to an end pretty soon. What are your goals or expectations for the rest of the season and how would you personally like to finish this season?

A: I would like to be able to win out the rest of our conference games and win our conference, the GCC, and get back to the NCAA Tournament and do better than we did last time.

Q: Any final thoughts or anything you would like to say to address the student body, fans or Pepperdine in general?

A: I want to thank all our fans for coming to our games, our success depends on them a lot. Especially this season, we have had a really solid turnout from our fans.

Players Mentioned

John Claude Marco

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