Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.

ASU water polo hosts MPSF tournament, faces Cal in first round

The Sun Devils will have their might tested going into the MPSF tournament this weekend against budding rival Cal.

ASU Women's Water Polo_apr 4_Burnton_9
ASU Senior Attacker Petra Parti sets to pass the water polo ball to one of her ASU teammates during ASU Woman's Water Polo game against UCLA on Saturday. The game ended in a score of 11-5, UCLA at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex in Tempe, Ariz. (Photo by Gretchen Burnton)

The Sun Devil water polo team will be hosting the MPSF tournament, something it has been working toward all season long. The tournament features top-ranked teams, including No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 USC.

The fifth-seeded Sun Devils' first opponent will be fourth-seeded Cal, the team they played two weeks prior in Berkeley in the final regular season game, where they fell 7-5. 

Head coach Todd Clapper isn't concerned about how the team fared weeks ago and is using the game to his advantage. 

“It has been basically three weeks of preparing; plus, we had kind of a run through to see how we did, and we've already gotten a lot better,” Clapper said. “We saw some of the reactions to some of the things we did, so it has been good to have that almost kind of test match, a nice scouting report.”

Because the team just faced Cal, it knows what to expect and can prepare specifically for that game. 

“Well the nice thing is that we have the same opponent that we prepared for last time,” Clapper said. “Some things will be the same, some things will be different. It has been nice to be able to have two weeks of preparation for one game, on team.”

Although it is the end of the season, Clapper still sees some kinks that need to be worked out before Friday.

“We still have stuff to do,” Clapper said. “Nothing new, but things need to be more automatic. There are a few things where people are still getting a little lost here and there, but it is getting better. We need the extra practices to fine tune and to make sure that everybody is working together.”

Many players on the team put extra emphasis on games against Cal, developing a budding rivalry with the team over the past few years. 

“I think there has been a little bit of a rivalry these last few years,” Clapper said. “I think that the players feel that way. For us, it's our ticket to the top four of the conference and to get into the semifinals. For me it's more about the team that is in our way more than the rivalry. Some of them feel like they have a big rivalry with Cal, but for me, they are in our way. That is our focus. That is where we are getting passionate about beating them.”

Clapper is not looking too far into the future, choosing to focus solely on the opponent that stands in front of them.

“We are not even looking past Friday,” Clapper said. “At this point, it is Friday only. We will think about Saturday, we will think about Sunday when they come, but everything right now is all about Friday. We are going all in on Friday, and then we will figure out the rest afterwards.”

The Sun Devils host Cal on Friday at 2:30 p.m.

Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow @MarcTSteiner on Twitter.

Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.


Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.

Subscribe to Pressing Matters



×

Notice

This website uses cookies to make your experience better and easier. By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.