The ASU water polo team will open its 10th season as a varsity program with a daunting task as they travel to the Stanford Invitational to face three of the top 10 teams in the country.
“This weekend is going to be a really good weekend to see where we’re at as a team,” ASU senior Candice Phillippe said. “I think it’ll show what we need to improve upon and what we’re doing well.”
ASU coach Todd Clapper is also excited about the upcoming tournament.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” Clapper said. “It’s a challenge that’s in front of us and so far [our team has] stepped up to the challenges that [the coaches] have asked of them.”
While Stanford, San Jose State and Cal will all be tough opponents, the No. 1 Cardinal appears to be ASU’s toughest competitor.
The Cardinal opened up the season with four victories in the Michigan Kickoff, and each of the wins were by more than nine goals.
Even though Stanford is ranked first in the country, Phillippe feels the No. 8 Sun Devils will be ready.
“It should be a good matchup because we have similar speed to them,” Phillippe said. “We just have to come out strong and we have to play a really good game.”
After the Sun Devils play Stanford, the tournament won’t get much easier as both No. 3 Cal and No. 9 San Jose State are also tough.
The Golden Bears are currently undefeated at 7-0, and have scored 19 or more goals three times this season.
Cal currently has a few players nursing injuries, so Clapper is unsure of who will be playing but he has his team preparing for the best the Golden Bears have to offer.
While he said he has not seen San Jose State in person, Clapper has heard a lot about them and is expecting a tough matchup.
The Spartans have lost twice this year. Once on Jan. 22 to then No. 8 ranked Michigan and again the following day to then No. 6 ranked Loyola Marymount.
“They’re tough opponents,” Clapper said of all three of ASU’s matchups. “[However,] we are a pretty tough opponent too.”
Despite the difficulty of the competition, ASU feels they are well prepared thanks to the physical scrimmages against the Canadian National Team.
“I think it was a really good opportunity for us to play the Canadians before, because they [were] a very aggressive team and they’re very fast,” Phillippe said.
Phillippe added that the Canadians were just as tough, if not tougher, than any of the teams the Sun Devils will compete against this weekend.
ASU is physically ready for this tournament, but Clapper hopes his team will be focused mentally in all phases of the game and avoid any lapses on defense.
“The goal this weekend is to not have those moments,” Clapper said. “[We need to] force [opponents] to score against our best rather than us making a mistake in our defense and giving them an easy opportunity.”
Friday marks the 10-year anniversary for the program, which started in 2002.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
