It was more than two years ago when Vicki Gorman set foot on ASU's campus as head coach of the first women's water polo team.
At the time, the athletic department's move to add the sport seemed to be more of an act for ASU to become more Title IX compliant, and not to introduce a sport that would seem ideal for the Arizona lifestyle.
But, after a successful maiden voyage in the 2001-02 season, the Sun Devils surprised even themselves last year, finishing with a winning record (20-18) for the first time in their brief history.
In the team's first two years, it operated independently, and was not part of the Pac-10 or any other conference.
But, the 2004 season will be different, as ASU was named the 12th participating university of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). The conference includes five Pac-10 schools - California, Stanford, USC, UCLA and ASU.
Other teams within the conference include Hawaii, Long Beach State, Pacific, San Diego State, San Jose State, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara.
The MPSF has proven to be among the NCAA's strongest conferences. In 2003, 10 of its 11 teams were represented in the final National Collegiate Women's Top-20 poll.
"We are really looking forward to being part of the conference this year," Gorman said. "Even though our conference is very tough, I still think winning 50 percent of our games is reasonable."
The Sun Devils open their season on the road this weekend when they will play back-to-back double headers as part of the Michigan Invitational on the campus of the University of Michigan.
"We have two goof tournaments at the beginning of the year that will give us at least eight games prior to conference play," Gorman said.
ASU is slated to open Saturday morning against Indiana, and then will play Marist in the afternoon. The next day, the Sun Devils will swim against the hosting Wolverines, followed by a game with UC San Diego.
Last season, both the Hoosiers and the Wolverines got the best of the Sun Devils at home, beating ASU 8-5 and 7-5, respectively.
In its first season, ASU handily beat Marist 11-3. But, with a team fielding only five upperclassmen, the Sun Devils' history is not as important as its future.
Reach the reporter at damien.tippett@asu.edu.
