By Lindsey Boyd (@lindsboyd3):
Jacob Mercep is not arguably one of the best water polo players in the nation. Statistically, he is one of the best.
Leading the Golden Coast Conference with 59 goals and 73 points, the Croatian is dominating Division I waters as a freshman. To put his numbers into perspective, Luca Cupido, the lead scorer of defending NCAA Division 1 Champions UC Berkeley, has 44 goals currently. Not to mention, Cupido is a 2016 Rio Olympian.
“European water polo and American [water polo] are two different games,” Mercep said. “In America, the pool is shorter and the game is much more physical and it’s based more on swimming.”
The game may be played less aggressively in Croatia, but the sniper-like shooting technique that Mercep learned in Croatia gives him a strong advantage over most American players. He has a deadly eye for playmaking and reacts quickly to ball movement.
“If he doesn’t play well, we don’t play well,” head coach Bruce Watson said.
On defense, Mercep’s quick to pressure his opponent although his aggressive on steals sometimes gets him into exclusion trouble – an area he also leads San Jose State in.
Most notably, Mercep’s ability to make shooting space on offense allows him stand out amongst competitors. The math major (ironic right) has broken multiple San Jose State records, most recently earning an SJSU game high of nine goals – the same amount that No. 1 University of Southern California’s Nikola Vavic set for USC in 2012.
He also had four straight games scoring six points a piece – one of which was against No. 1 USC.
“There is a Montenegro player Luka Cupic that I have the best synergy with in the pool because we kind of get each other,” Mercep said. “Besides that, on my right side there’s Ben [Hauschild]… he makes my plays much easier.”
With Hauschild’s many assists and playmaking, he is able to set up Mercep on the left. The two have a relationship similar to a point guard and center in basketball.
Before the season started, Hauschild was curious to see which of the new players would rise and said, “Just [want to see] who steps up to the plate and takes over.” Now, it seems obvious who the glue of the team is.
Just as there is no “I” in team, there is no “I” in Mercep, and he credits his teammates for creating openings for him. Better teams are starting to double team him now that he’s made a name for himself, so Mercep hopes more scoring opportunities will arise for his teammates.
“It’s nice to be the top scorer but that’s not our primary goal,” Mercep said.
The team’s goal to rank top ten is Merceps goal — Not the Golden Coast Conference Player of the Week award that he’s received twice already, or the point leader of the conference. He isn’t even thinking of the Olympics. He just wants to focus on one game at a time.
Another goal of his– to speak English more.
If Mercep doesn’t speak English during practice, Watson orders the whole team to line up on the wall and swim 10 laps.
“It’s just we have a Montenegro guy and a Serbian guy on the team so we kind of speak sometimes out own languages but everything is a good cause and this wasn’t like a punishment or something.”
Mercep might be the loudest to make jokes or “rag” his coach, but his humility and dedication to his sport speaks volumes.
As Mercep said,“This isn’t a peak for me. I think I will just keep on getting better.”