After 16 games of tournament play to open the 2010 season, the ASU water polo team kicks off conference play this weekend.
The No. 6 Sun Devils (11-5) will take on No. 4 UCLA (12-5) in their first MPSF conference matchup of the season Saturday.
“We have the personnel to beat UCLA,” ASU coach Todd Clapper said. “It is really just having that conviction and taking it. It’s going in with the mindset of taking that win [and] not hoping for the win, and having that passion that you are not going to be denied.”
The Sun Devils have never beaten UCLA in the pool. The two teams faced off in the Stanford Invitational earlier in the season and the Bruins defeated the Sun Devils 7-6.
“You look at what we have done so far, and two losses that stick out are UCLA and Hawaii,” Clapper said. “We get another chance at them.”
Clapper has worked to keep his team confident and motivated for the showdown with the Bruins.
“We have to be hungry for the ball,” junior attacker Lynlee Smith said. “Every ball they have, we have to take it. This year we have the strongest team ever at ASU. We can’t just talk about it. We have to start showing people. This is it. We have to put the ball in the back of the net.”
Clapper has drawn inspiration from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” a book that discusses military strategy.
“One of the things is to know your opponent and know yourself,” Clapper said. “We know UCLA, we know ourselves, and we know what we do and we need to do it well.”
Following the game against UCLA, ASU will face off against Long Beach State (3-10).
“Long Beach has been struggling a bit, but their roster has strong players,” Clapper said. “After UCLA, the weekend is not over. We respect their players and we will have to shift gears.”
The Sun Devils are coming off an impressive performance at the Cal Lutheran Spring Classic. ASU won all five of its games, and extended its winning streak to six.
“We’re just getting back to some of our basics,” Clapper said. “Anytime we play, it does not matter the opponent. We have a standard.”
ASU continues its conference schedule with games against No. 7 San Jose State (11-8) on March 20 and No. 2 Stanford (14-1) on March 21.
As the season presses on, each conference matchup will affect the MPSF and NCAA Championships.
“This is what we have been working and developing our players for,” Clapper said. “Our fate is in our hands to get the wins we need to get into the [NCAA] Tournament.”
Reach the reporter at gjdillar@asu.edu
