The ASU water polo team’s 2010 season began with 20 away games in California.
Now the No. 7 Sun Devils (12-8) come home to host the Arizona State Invitational in Tempe.
“The road after a while wears a bit on everybody,” ASU coach Todd Clapper said. “It’s nice to play in our home pool — it’s comfortable for us as well. We are excited to see what we can do this weekend.”
ASU kicks off the tournament with a Friday evening matchup against Cal Baptist (16-10).
“They have had some good games against quality opponents,” Clapper said. “They are a solid squad and a nice lead into our home stand.”
The premiere contest of the weekend comes against No. 3 Hawaii (9-6) on Saturday. The Rainbow Wahine are no strangers to the ASU squad this season, as they have already played twice in 2010.
“The focus is if we can keep any easy goals out of the net,” Clapper said. “That has been the backbreaker for us. We are focused on what we do defensively and controlling the ball. If they score, we make sure they had to work hard for that goal.”
Despite losing to Hawaii 11-7 at the Stanford Invitational and suffering a 9-7 defeat during the UC Irvine Invitational, Clapper said he is confident in his team’s ability.
“We have got the shooters, defense, goalkeeping,” Clapper said. “We have the offensive firepower to win the game.”
ASU will battle Concordia (11-7) in its second Saturday game and finish off the weekend with a matchup against the Santa Clara Broncos (10-9) Sunday morning.
The Sun Devils, who are coming off back-to-back MPSF conference losses to San Jose State and Stanford, are trying to get back to their winning ways.
“We are back on track for our MPSF games,” Clapper said. “We plateaued a bit and got in a bit of a slump, but the play is better and enthusiasm is back. Everyone is mentally back on track. They have bounced back, which is really good.”
Clapper has taken a new approach in practice this week by jumping in the pool alongside his players.
“I have gotten in this week and been the voice of the water and shown them some things,” Clapper said. “The team has been great with that. We’ve seen improvement, and the enthusiasm is back. The weight is off our shoulders, and we’re getting back to playing good polo.”
The Sun Devils hope the adjustments and hard work in practice pays off throughout the remainder of the season.
“The season is not over,” sophomore attacker Mariam Salloum said. “We aren’t giving up yet — we still have the MPSF tournament to look forward to. We have to pick it up in practice.”
With the invitational being held at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center, the Sun Devils hope to have plenty of support in the stands.
“We are really excited, because this year we are expecting a lot of people to come,” Salloum said. “It’s always nice to play in front of people you care about.”
Clapper and the Sun Devils head into the tournament with confidence and a sense of familiarity.
“It’s knowing the strengths of each team and doing what we do really well,” Clapper said. “You can’t put a price on familiarity, and being in the place you practice in makes it easier to do what you do.”
Reach the reporter at gregory.dillard@asu.edu
