Women’s water polo team sets goals for rookie season

After graduating six seniors from a team that went 19-14 last year and completed the Hoosiers’ third consecutive undefeated 7-0 season in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Western Division, the IU women’s water polo team is ready to take on a new season.\n“There is always a certain amount of challenges when people graduate,” IU coach Barry King said. “We have a great fresh class that have completed at high levels in high school. Hopefully their transition to the college level will be OK.”\nThough a young team poses certain obstacles, King remains positive. \n“Our goal is always to win as many games as possible and be the best team,” he said. “We hope to win our conference title and get into the tourney; that hasn’t changed.”\nIn the short term, King hopes the team will continue to improve. \n“We want to make sure that we are getting better every time we hit the water, make sure we are learning our lessons from previous competitions and taking them to the next,” King said. “This way, when we get to the end of the season, we hope we are playing the best we possibly can.”\nKing returns Brooke Zimmerman, the top goal scorer and assist leader from last year, at the attacker position. The senior from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, scored 76 goals to set a school record for goals scored in a single season and has also set the single-season record by dishing out 52 assists on her way to being named to the first team All-CWPA. She remains in fifth place in career goals and assists in IU history.\n“Last season, it was a goal of mine to be the best I could for the team,” Zimmerman said. “It worked out that I got all of those records. Hopefully I can do just as well this year and make some good assists.”\nBrittany Estrada is the only other returning player who started all 33 matches last year. Estrada will play at both center and center defender positions. Also at the center position will be Maggie Hannon, who played in all 33 matches in 2007.\n“They are as talented as any group we’ve had,” King said. “Lauren Wyckoff and Kara Butler, because of the level they’ve played, may be in position a little quicker to help us. Nicole Redder and Kate Dunn are a little less experienced as far as their Midwestern routes go. However, they too will be in a position to help us in the future.”\nWyckoff, who was most recently named “CWPA Western Division Co-Player of the Week,” said the influence the older women have on the new players is profound. \n“Definitely when I first started, I was impressed because we are all really fast,” Wyckoff said. “The seniors are a really good influence on us. We haven’t had as much experience and they tell us what we are doing right and wrong.”\nWith so many young players, Zimmerman said she tries to get to know everyone in the water.\n“This helps us to work towards the team goal, which is always to let each other know where we will be in the pool and to form a sort of team chemistry,” she said. “This helps us get better as a whole rather than just individually. The beginning of the season is important for these sort of things.”\nThrough eight games this season, the Hoosiers stand at 3-5. They will compete in Princeton, N.J., this weekend in the Princeton Invite, starting with a game against Princeton at 9:40 a.m. Saturday.