In the middle of an episode of the 1960s sitcom "Get Smart," star Don Adams' character jumps out of a window hoping to land on a truck loaded with mattresses. After falling short of the mattress truck and hitting pavement, Smart turns to the camera, puts his thumb close to his index finger and mutters his catch phrase, "Missed it by that much."
While the women who play water polo for ASU more than likely have little in common with Adams' character, they can relate to his classic line. The Sun Devils are 2-5 in one-loss games this season, with two losses coming in overtime. For some on the team, missing wins by such a close margin has worn a bit thin.
"Losing is unfortunate, and it's not something we want to do all the time," junior goalie Jennifer Sanderson said.
Senior Katie Davis echoed her teammate's sentiments.
"I'm hoping the team is not frustrated about losing all these close games," Davis said. "We've worked hard in practice all week, and we're looking forward to good things."
Last weekend, ASU played well but lost tough decisions with Cal and San Diego State, two games they could have won. While the mounting close defeats could be looked at as disenchanting, the team would rather focus on the fact that they have been involved in such close affairs, and feel they can compete with any team in the country.
"At times the losses have gotten to us, but that's a good thing. It means we care," head coach Vicki Gorman said. "I couldn't have asked for a more competitive team. I'm very proud of them."
The Sun Devils are going to need to feel confident as they head to Santa Barbara, Calif., and Los Angeles to take on UC Santa Barbara and UCLA -- the No. 10 and No. 2 teams in the nation, respectively.
"I'm excited to play them," Sanderson said. "Knowing how well we've played against other teams this year, something good will happen soon."
In spite of their tough luck, the Sun Devils (8-12, 1-6 in conference play) are ranked 18th nationally, in part due to their membership in the most competitive conference in the nation, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. While victories certainly are more welcome than defeats, Gorman tries to keep things in perspective.
"Being a young program, there's too much focus on wins and losses," she said. "We've played our best, and have lost to good teams who have taken advantage of our mistakes."
ASU will play UCSB Saturday before taking on the Bruins on Sunday.
Reach the reporter at vic.vela@asu.edu.
