After losing to Stanford for the third time this season, the ASU water polo team will look to rebound and beat San Jose State for the third time this year.
The No. 8 Sun Devils (8-9, 0-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) have already beaten the No. 9 Spartans (15-8, 1-2 MPSF) 12-9 at the Stanford Invitational and 9-8 at the UC Irvine Invite.
Despite the Sun Devils’ recent success against the Spartans, ASU coach Todd Clapper is not overlooking this weekends’ opponent.
“We know each other well,” Clapper said. “They’re definitely a strong opponent and they’ve been playing well recently and we expect that all conference games are going to be tough.”
The Sun Devils do have the right to be confident, but Clapper hopes his team will not be overconfident and complacent.
“Sometimes there’s a tendency, when you beat a team a couple times, to go into the game thinking it’s going to be easy and you get caught off guard, but this team has done a really good job at staying focused.”
Keeping emotions in check will also be crucial for the ASU seniors as they will be playing their last home game.
Seniors Sarah Harris, Candice Phillippe, Lynlee Smith and Nikki Unbehaun will all be honored before the game.
“This is their last home game and they’ve meant a ton to this program,” Clapper said. “All four of them have had a tremendous impact.”
The Sun Devils previous two wins against the Spartans have come in tournament play, meaning the games have not counted toward ASU’s conference record.
This weekend’s game will be an MPSF matchup, which is significant, as the Sun Devils have not won an MPSF game in two seasons.
While ASU will be looking to end their conference-losing streak, San Jose State will be looking to extend their season-high eight-game winning streak.
The Spartans last loss came against the Sun Devils on Feb. 26.
With opportunities to end a two-year conference-losing streak and give the seniors a win in their final game, the Sun Devils are anxious to get in the pool.
“I’m pretty excited to see what we’re going to do,” Clapper said.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
SATURDAY’S GAME
No. 9 Spartans at No. 8 Sun Devils
When: Noon
Where: Mona Plummer Aquatic Center
San Jose State Update: The Spartans have lost two out of two against the Sun Devils, and ASU will be looking for the regular season sweep. SJSU’s current eight-game win streak is a season high.
