SANTA CLARA, Calif.- Men's water polo senior Mark Davis (MD) is using his summer to prepare for his final season as a Bronco. Davis hopes the team's hard work and summer training will help them have an even more successful season than they did last year, maintaining a top-20 ranking all season long. SantaClaraBroncos.com (SCB) checked in with Davis to see how his summer has been going.
SCB: What have you been up to this summer?
MD: This summer I have primarily been working and playing water polo. I am working as a Mid-Market Intern at AdRoll, which is a premier display advertising and retarget marketing start-up based out of San Francisco. It is a really exciting and fast-paced environment to work in and I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to develop my professional skills in the business world as I head into my senior year. Later on in the summer, during our two weeks off from water polo, I am going to Ireland and Scotland on a golf trip with my dad, uncle and brother.
SCB: What is your go-to summer workout?
MB: Typically during my summers I am pretty busy with water polo practices and team workouts. But lately on the weekends, and what I have done in the past in Santa Barbara, is lift weights, swim, go on lengthy runs or play some pick-up basketball.
SCB: How are you preparing for your final season as a Bronco?
MB: So far our team has been practicing five times a week. In addition, we have two tournaments this summer and various scrimmages with teams in the Bay Area. The first tournament is this weekend at Santa Clara and the next is the following weekend in Fresno. It's extremely important for us as a team to get the most out of these games this summer as they provide opportunities for us to get some exposure to teams that we will potentially face during the regular season. We can get a gauge of where our team stands relative to others and start making the necessary adjustments and tactical modifications before the regular season starts. Additionally, for returners and young players on the team it can give us a chance to start perfecting our roles and positions on the team so once preseason starts we all have a good head start as the regular season starts to approach.
SCB: What are you most looking forward to about this season?
MB: Other than winning as many games as possible, I'm looking forward to all our road trips and tournaments on the weekends. Those are the kinds of experiences that you can't really replicate anywhere else and bring out the true nature of our close-knit group that we have on the water polo team.
SCB: What is your favorite summertime activity?
MB: My favorite summertime activity would have to be traveling or playing golf. With limited time during the school year I try to take advantage of the few weeks off that I get during the summer. With my upcoming trip to Ireland I am combining both golf and traveling, so it will probably be the coolest thing ever.
