Trip ends in 3 consecutive losses

The first half of the weekend went perfectly for IU’s water polo team. The Hoosiers were not so fortunate in the second half.

The No. 11 team went 3-3 overall on the weekend, stringing together a three-game winning streak to begin and a three-game losing streak to end. The Hoosiers now stand at 14-11 overall.

“In our first three games we had a lot of calls in our favor and the momentum continued to stay on our side,” sophomore attacker Colleen McNaught said. “In the last three games, we played just as hard as the first three, but sometimes when a few calls don’t go your way it quickly changes the final outcome of the game.”

On Friday, IU went a perfect 2-0 in the Lancer Invite in Riverside, Calif. by beating Cal-Baptist 9-8 in overtime and Wagner 9-6.

The victory against Wagner was IU’s second of the season. The Hoosiers defeated the Seahawks 15-12 on Feb. 17.

On Saturday and Sunday, IU went over to San Diego for the Aztec Invitational. The Hoosiers began the event successfully by defeating No. 8 Hawaii, 8-6. It was IU’s first win of the year against a team ranked as high as No. 8.

The win was vengeance for a 14-6 loss to Hawaii on Feb. 2.

Later that night, IU’s losing streak began with a 12-11 loss to No. 7 San Diego State. The Aztecs were given seven penalty shots in the contest and scored on six of them. The seven shots more than doubled the total amount IU had given up all year.

This was the third and final rematch for IU on the weekend. The Hoosiers were defeated by the Aztecs back on Jan. 20, 11-5.

The losing streak continued Sunday as IU lost to No. 17 UC San Diego 10-7 and No. 13 Cal State Northridge, 8-7.

McNaught said playing six games in three days was physically taxing, but it wasn’t why the weekend ended with three consecutive losses.

“It definitely takes a toll on your body physically, but mentally we have to remind ourselves to stay disciplined before each game,” she said. “It also helps to know that each team we are playing is feeling about the same as us.”

Senior attacker Jakie Köhli continued to climb up IU’s record book during the weekend. She passed Krista Peterson’s mark of 224 career goals to move into second place all-time for a Hoosier and now only trails Kristin Stanford’s 246. After scoring a team-leading 14 goals during the weekend, Köhli now has 226 scores in her career and 46 on the season.

IU is now done with nonconference play for the 2013 season. The Hoosiers will play three more regular season games against conference foes before postseason play begins.