No. 8 Hoosiers ready for division tournament

Despite three weeks off from competition, the No. 8 IU water polo team has been anything but idle, according to coach Barry King. It has had three full weeks of practice and played intra-squad scrimmages as real games. \n"We tried to treat each week like we had games that weekend," King said. "I like the way we worked out the last few weeks. We have had some good, sharp practices. Everyone is healthy. We have not missed a beat."\nThe team will resume play this weekend as the No. 1 seed in the College Water Polo Association Western Division Tournament in Grove City, Penn. After going 7-0 against division opponents in the regular season, the Hoosiers are poised to win their first postseason Western Division championship.\n"A couple of things are at our advantage," King said. "The time off makes us healthy and rested. Playing in a small pool at Grove City is also to our advantage. We know what we can do. We just need to go out there and take advantage of our opportunities. I do not see anything holding us back this weekend. We are ready to go." \nThe Hoosiers' first game is against Grove City College Friday. IU is 7-0 all-time against Grove City. The last victory was a 17-4 decision on March 3. The winner of the IU-Grove City contest will face the winner of the 4-5 game between Mercyhurst College and Washington & Jefferson College. The Hoosiers have never lost to either team and beat both earlier this season. Winning both games will put IU in the championship game -- setting up a potential game against No. 11 Michigan, the No. 2 seed. The Hoosiers beat Michigan twice this season by a score of 7-6 each time.\n"The Michigan contest is important," King said. "It will be our last meaningful competition before the (Eastern) conference tournament. We need to treat every game like a conference final because we really need to be ready for the conference tournament next weekend."\nThe top two teams this weekend will advance to the CWPA Eastern Conference Championship, April 30 through May 1 in Bloomington. The winner of the Eastern Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship May 13-15 in Ann Arbor, Mich.\n"I feel really good about this weekend," senior goalie Jessica Goldner said. "It should be a successful trip. It will be good preparation for Easterns. I am not discounting Divisionals, but Easterns is what we are really looking toward since it is what we need to qualify for the NCAA tournament."\nSenior attacker Kandace Waldthaler hopes to take advantage of every opportunity to make her final postseason as successful as possible.\n"This is the last chance to play," she said. "It is more motivation for me and all the seniors to go out strong and finish on top. We are rested, prepared, and ready to go. There is nothing holding us back." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Steve \nBrennan at sgbrenna@indiana.edu.