Conference Weekend comes to IU

This weekend is an important one for the women's water polo team. It plays host to the Collegiate Water Polo Association Conference Weekend. The Hoosiers hope to produce some victories that will help their seeding in the Conference Championships.\nThe events will take place this Saturday and Sunday at the Counsilman/Billingsley Aquatic Center at the Student Recreational Sports Center. IU plays twice Saturday and three times Sunday.\nThe matches will be the last home matches of the year for IU. Coach Barry King said he is confident his team is more prepared for its last home matches.\n"We have our first home weekend out of the way," King said. "We know what distractions to avoid. I like the advantage (this weekend)."\nThe No. 16 Hoosiers start the weekend with a match against Slippery Rock at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. IU has had success in the past against Slippery Rock, winning both contests last year by a combined score of 30-6.\nAlthough Slippery Rock is not considered top competition, King hopes his team will compete hard.\n"We approach every game as a learning opportunity," he said. "We can learn about ourselves and learn about the team."\nIn their late match Saturday, the Hoosiers will take on No. 15 Michigan at 7 p.m. The Hoosiers consider Michigan to be one of their main rivals and said they would love to beat the Wolverines at home.\n"It would be huge (to beat them)," freshman Krista Peterson said. "It would help us get a good seed (in the CWPA Southern Division Championships April 19-21)."\nSenior Kristin Stanford also said she wants to hand Michigan a defeat. The Hoosiers haven't beat Michigan since April 2000.\n"We really want to beat Michigan. We're playing them at home," Stanford said. "It's important to make sure we do the things that make us a good team."\nThis will be the third match against Michigan this year. The Hoosiers lost the first match 10-9 and dropped the second match 9-7 in overtime. \n"We know we played two matches well enough to win those, and so we're not thinking we can't do it," King said. "We have to execute."\nThe Hoosiers have an early start Sunday, with their first match starting at 8 a.m. against Mercyherst. They follow that game up with a 9:30 a.m. match against Gannon. IU defeated Gannon earlier this year 19-10. IU finishes off the day against Penn State Behrend at 2:30 p.m.\nStanford said the team will have to play solid defense to be successful. King said he wants his team to convert on its power play opportunities. Peterson said she wants the Hoosiers to play hard the entire game.\n"We just need to dominate on offense," Peterson said. "We need to keep our lead and stay with it. We usually lose that. We need to play with confidence the entire game"