Water polo star caught in admissions scandal!!
Sawyer Koetters (’19) was one of many teenaged students across the country caught in last month’s college entry scandal. The "water polo star"—who we now know does not actually play the sport—used his extensive photoshopping skills to trick the U.S. Naval Academy into accepting him. In early October of last year, Koetters sent the Academy an array of doctored photos that seemed to depict him playing water polo, and even forged records of team membership over the past four years. Koetters also used the photos to fool his own peers by posting them on social media. It is still yet to be confirmed whether or not the real Samo water polo players were in on the scam. “I never really noticed if that kid was on the team or not. Everyone looks the same in goggles and a cap anyway,” water polo coach Matthew Flanders said. Despite being painted as an excellent water polo player on his college applications, Koetters in reality has yet to enter a pool. Sources close to him say he can barely swim and is terrified of water, but applied to the Naval Academy regardless. He will be required to serve five years in the Navy after he graduates, which may pose a problem for his aquaphobia. “It’s a free school and it makes me look like a badass, I wasn’t thinking about what I’d actually have to do,” Koetters said. However, even with the evidence against him, Koetters insists that he got accepted into the Academy due to his socioeconomic background—not his forged athletic records. Being from the underprivileged city of Santa Monica and having European heritage, he says he was admitted because he was expected to bring economic and racial diversity to the Academy. Koetters has been expelled from Samo, and the Naval Academy has withdrawn his acceptance. "Frankly, it's a relief. When you keep a lie like that going, it just consumes you from within... I'm just excited to live honestly again," Koetters said. "Also, sooner or later, somebody was going to make me swim. I was not on board with that."