IU looking for revenge in season-opening tourney at Michigan

This weekend the No. 14 Water Polo team travels to the confines of its most heated rival; the dangerous waters of Ann Arbor, Mich. The Hoosiers and the No. 11 Wolverines have a heated rivalry and the Hoosiers are out to get revenge from last season.\nLast year the two Big Ten powerhouses played each other five times and IU lost each time. Although the rivalry sounds a bit one-sided, four of those games were decided by two goals or less. Twice, the two teams went to overtime including a five-minute overtime thriller that Michigan barely squeaked out 8-7. \n"We are very excited to play them, it is a fun rivalry yet we badly want to beat them," senior All- American Kristin Stanford said. \nFellow All-American sophomore Krista Peterson echoed those same sentiments. \n"I am very excited to play Michigan, it is a great second chance to make up for the losses last year," she said. \nBut, the highly competitive nature of the games is not the only thing that adds to the tension between the two schools.\nIn October of 2002, Matt Anderson, assistant coach of IU last year was named coach at the University of Michigan. IU Coach Barry King praised his former assistant.\n"I think it says a lot for water polo in the Midwest," King said in a statement. "Michigan went to the NCAAs last year and once Amber (Drury-Pinto) left to coach at Cal, they looked right to replace her. Matt is a great coach who will only make the program better."\nThe Hoosiers replaced Anderson with four time All-American Kristie Dickey. \n"Having Kristie along is great to have another coach on deck and get a different perspective on the game," Peterson said. "We are all very excited to have her along."\nAlthough the Hoosiers desperately want to beat the Wolverines the team isn't looking past their first round opponent in the tournament, Hartwick University. Hartwick is ranked No. 16 in the nation and has traditionally had a good program. \n"Hartwick is a very important game, they are a good team finishing second in the East last year and we must not overlook them before playing Michigan," Stanford said. \nAlthough Michigan is again ranked this year, this year's squad could be the Hoosiers' best chance for a win. King said thinks the senior leadership will be essential to the success of the team this year with Stanford leading the way.\n"Kristin has been a consistent offensive force for us the last three years," King said in a statement. "She will be expected to do the same this year, as well as provide great leadership for such a young group." \nAlong with the two All-Americans, starting goaltender Jessica Goldner is back this year. Last year, as a freshman, Goldner posted a 3.31 goals against average.\nWith the quality of the returning players and a good crop of freshmen, King said he is excited to start the season. \n"We're excited to get going and see where we are," King said in a press release. "All three of these teams were ranked ahead of us at the end of last year. How we do up here will be a real marker of who we are and what we need to do"