The ASU women's water polo team is about to make a splash.
After finishing last season ranked sixth in the nation at 15-13, the Sun Devils have had a strong off-season and are looking to build on last years's success.
"Through fall training, we stepped it up in terms of the intensity and attention to detail," coach Todd Clapper said. "We're elevating our game. It's better than it's ever been."
The team returns all but two starters from last year's squad, including team leader, senior attacker Ashley Bower, sophomore all-around player Addison Doud and junior goalkeeper Caylinn Wallace.
But ASU knows it will take a team effort to produce wins, especially on the defensive side.
"I do well because of the six other people in front of me in the cage," Wallace said. "I rely on them a lot for all my success."
The Sun Devils have added new players that should make an immediate impact. Freshman attacker Bonnie Chapman and freshman center Kelly Phelps could become starters early this season.
"We've got this 1-2 punch in lefthanders [Chapman and Phelps] that are just stepping up big time and looking to challenge for starting positions," Clapper said. "Going from not having a left-hander last year to having two that are going to be major impact players is going to make a huge difference."
The Sun Devils are again set to be a great offensive team greatly due to their depth.
"We've got more people who can shoot from the perimeter and more people who can play inside," Clapper said. "There's a lot of good stuff happening in terms of the amount of people in the water who are a serious offensive threat."
However, Clapper said ASU's greatest attribute won't ever show up on the stat sheet.
"Our focus and willingness to learn and correct our mistakes is really our biggest strength," Clapper said.
The intensity of team practices is another reason the Sun Devils have high hopes this season.
"We try to stay intense all three hours of practice," Doud said. "That way we know when we get into a game that no other team has worked as hard as we have."
Clapper noted that defense is the area needs the most improvement.
"We have a great starting goalkeeper and she makes our defense look pretty good at times, but we still need to improve that," Clapper said.
The Sun Devils have a chance to see how they fare against some of the nation's elite when they travel to Stanford to participate in a season-opening invitational in early February. ASU will face last season's runner-up USC in their first game.
"I can't wait to see how we put everything together against some of the top teams in the nation," Wallace said. "It's kind of going to let us figure out where we are and the things we need to work on."
Despite some opponents on the schedule, the team knows it has a strong group of players and the season will be successful as long as it takes care of its own business.
"We're focusing on what we're doing because that's what's going to affect our destiny," Clapper said. "I would like to get this team to the point where we finished last year, if not better this year. We're always looking to improve on the year before."
Reach the reporter at:gina.mizell@asu.edu.
