Sophomore center Liz Kreek extends her arm to deny a shot from a Hartwick defender. The ASU water polo team will take on Hartwick again this weekend in the Brown Tournament. (Photo by Dominic Valente)Winners of seven of its last eight, the ASU water polo team heads to Rhode Island for five games.
The No. 3 Sun Devils will play Marist, Brown, No. 19 Hartwick, No. 20 Michigan and Harvard. ASU is 17-0 against teams ranked lower than itself.
All eyes will be on the Sun Devils this weekend, the highest ranked team in the Brown Tournament.
Some could look at this weekend as a trap series for ASU. Even if the Sun Devils were to win all five games, it wouldn't affect their ranking. A couple of losses, however, could drop them down a place or two.
Coach Todd Clapper sees the weekend as a positive.
“We’re hoping we can get the bench some playing time and help develop them a little bit more before the end of the season,” Clapper said. “It’s a nice opportunity for us to play different teams. We don't worry too much about what might happen if we lose.”
Of the five opponents, ASU has played Marist and Hartwick once each, both victories.
Marist (17-9) will oppose ASU in the Sun Devils’ only Friday matchup. ASU beat Marist 14-4 on Feb. 9 in the only meeting between the two.
Saturday features ASU against Brown(12-13) and a rematch of the March 25 meeting against Hartwick.
For Brown, the game is a challenge to beat a top team in the nation. The Bears lost to No. 1 USC in their last game. They now have a chance to beat another top ranked team in their home pool.
Brown has not played a home game since Feb. 10.
Saturday is chance for Hartwick (23-9) to redeem its 12-3 loss to ASU two weeks ago. The Hawks came out strong Tuesday against Sienna College, taking a 19-7 victory.
On the Sun Devils’ final day of action on Sunday, they will swim with Michigan and Harvard.
The Wolverines (14-10) hope to carry their winning streak into the weekend. After starting 4-10, Michigan has rattled off 10 consecutive victories, including back-to-back tournament sweeps.
Harvard (13-9) joins the tournament on Sunday and will play only ASU and CSU Bakersfield at Brown. The Crimson has been a streaky team this season. It won eight in a row earlier this year, only to enter the weekend riding a six-game losing streak.
This weekend will be the first games ASU plays away from California and Arizona. The Sun Devils have yet to discover how a long travel will affect their play.
If their performance in California is any indicator, it should be a non-factor. ASU is 15-4 in the Golden State.
“We’ve got a pretty focused, disciplined team,” Clapper said. “We’ll get in the water a little bit on Friday before we have to play and shoot around. Regardless of where we go, that seems to get everybody used to the venue.”
Reach the reporter at justin.emerson@asu.edu
