Some call it volleyball in the water. Others call it water basketball. Still others call it football with soccer mixed in.
For those that play the game and know the sport, it is simply called water polo.
President of the water polo club and senior Patrick Gilday said the sport is somewhat similar to basketball.
"You have six players on each side and you have a goalie, so there are seven players in the water on each team," Gilday said. "It's similar to basketball where there's no offense or defense, all six players go back and forth to play both sides, both offense and defense."
Gilday also said there are some soccer and volleyball similarities in the sport.
"You can only touch the ball with one hand at a time, you got to catch and shoot with one hand," Gilday said. "The ball can't go underwater at anytime or it's a turnover. The ball is similar to a volleyball."
Auburn's water polo team is a coed student organization that is open to all students and faculty.
Gilday said it is a club sport and is not recognized by Auburn or part of the NCAA or SEC.
Gilday said the water polo team's regular season is in the fall and it consists of three tournaments.
"The fall is our actual season, so we have three tournaments in the fall," Gilday said. "There's the two qualifying and then the championship. We generally play Southeastern Conference teams that have teams."
Gilday said the teams in its division are Vanderbilt, Clemson, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Georgia.
The sport is popular around the nation, especially on the West coast.
"It's most popular in California, out West and then up in the New England area," Gilday said. "It's probably the second most popular sport up in Connecticut. It's growing down here, but it's real big out West."
Mollie Krenik, senior member of the water polo team, said her favorite moments are being around her teammates.
"I have a great team and everybody is really energetic and funny," Krenik said. "It kind of makes what our team is."
Krenik and the team function as a family unit.
"I kind of feel like we all treat each other as brothers and sisters, in that one way or another," Krenik said. "We all look out after each other. We all have each other's back no matter what."
Krenik has prior experience playing water polo.
"I've been playing for a year and a half at Auburn and I played for a year in high school," Krenik said.
Conner Bailey, faculty advisor and professor of rural sociology, said the team has limited faculty interaction.
Bailey acts as a medium between the University and the team.
"I am the interlace between the team and the University," Bailey said. "I stay out of their way most of the time, but we interact on a regular basis."
According to the Auburn Web site, the water polo team practices Monday through Thursday 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
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