Freshman driver Sydney Blazek assisted her team in its 20-3 win over Caltech on Saturday. Eight different players scored for the Leopards. This completes their regular season games before the championship games that begin today in Redlands. / photo by Emmah Obradovich
With all the struggles they have faced, at least they went out with a bang. With a 20-3 win over Caltech Saturday, the women’s water polo team wrapped up their league play in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Rounding off the season with a 1-6 record in conference, the Leopards did not end with the worst record in SCIAC.
They managed to go one up on Caltech in the win column with this victory.
“We weren’t afraid to take shots; that’s what really helped us,” junior utility Lindsey Watson said. “A lot of different girls played that game so it wasn’t just our usual offense.”
In non-conference games, ULV had a split record with seven wins and seven losses. However their league play was much more difficult but ULV still gave it a strong effort in each and every match they played with many close scores that some ended in defeat.
Many girls attribute their poor league play to the fact that they are still a young team learning to play as one and to play with more trust and self-assurance.
There are four freshman and no seniors on the team this season.
However, with five juniors on the roster, there are hopes that maybe next season will be a different story and someone will step up to the leadership position.
“I think our biggest problem this season was experience,” freshman utility Amanda Fernandez said. “Next season I think we’ll pull together more quickly and have more wins.”
The game against Caltech was, for a change of pace, a thrashing to the fullest. The Leopards were on their game and were not afraid to take chances offensively.
Their youth and inexperience as the team were not factors on Saturday.
Their passes and plays flowed flawlessly as they treaded on and their confidence was unmatched by the Tigers.
It is possible that this confidence came from the fact that they felt they could truly play with nothing to lose.
With a 0-6 record going into Saturday’s game, no one probably expected much of a performance.
The Leopards shattered those low expectations with 20 well-earned goals and 11 smiling faces in the pool. The women really looked like they were having fun out there.
With this win, they started thinking about their SCIAC championship match.
“I think we’ll have a good chance against Redlands,” junior driver Katie Watkins said. “We were only down in the first half when we last played them.”
“They’re on our level,” Watson said. “We can definitely beat them and it’s going to be a good game.”
Having this win under their belt will hopefully launch these women into victory in their first game of championship play and give Redlands a tough team to beat in today’s first round of the SCIAC championships.
Taryn Aguilar can be reached at taguilar@ulv.edu.