Coach AJ Grucky was right. Hey, it wasn’t pretty but a win is a win nonetheless.
The women’s water polo club could not see it any differently. Winning the 2012 Regional Championship—like Grucky predicted—had given them a bid for the National Championship tournament in Tallahassee, Fl.
“It wasn’t pretty... not pretty,” Grucky says. “We found ways to win. We couldn’t put goals away, but our defense was rock solid.”
The A-team did go 4-0 like expected, but the margin of those wins were not defining moments. Grucky says that the team did not capitalize on shot opportunities so relying on a shutdown defense was a must. He feels like he has the personnel and depth to play the game at all angles but there’s “those” days.
Not to diminish the win.
The team did manage to ground Air Force 24-5 and beat Colorado State 15-7. These were preliminary games to one much closer. In the championship game, ASU overcame a nail-biter; they beat the University of Arizona 7-3. Grucky blames the inability to get a rhythm going. That’s why the game was too close for comfort.
As for coach’s strategy to use his B-team as a hurdle for U of A, that didn’t go as planned. He thought that his B-team would not contend with U of A but rather wear them down. With 18 hours in between each game it’s safe to say that U of A was rattled during the game — not tired. I mean, it’s hard to predict the timing.
Grucky said the B-team hung in there with U of A for two and a half quarters. The depth of U of A compromised their efforts toward the end, but looking at the bigger picture, Grucky said that the near upset energized his A-team.
This puts the A-team in contention for a national championship. Looking at the club’s next step, the bracket has San Diego State University as their next opponent; the Aztecs are the 9th seed in the tournament. ASU is positioned in 8th.
Aside from bracketing, Grucky is still confident. He feels like they can bring home the club’s first national championship.
“No doubt about it,” Grucky says. “I have all the confidence in the world. We haven’t had our best game yet this season, so this could be it.”
Grucky feels like the depth and positioning of his young players will give them an edge. Yes, they are a young team. Number one seed California Polytechnic State University has won five years in a row from experience.
With that depth — no matter how young the team is — there is specialization. Each player is the makeup of another scheme, another scheme that can throw off their opponent.
With this in mind, Grucky says that “he just knows.” He seems to know his team enough to call a 4-0 Regional Championship. It comes down to having faith thereon.
“I have faith,” Grucky says. “It comes down to attitude. When you have a team that has leadership in different areas like I do, I have every part of the game in my command.”
The team looks to finish better than 9th, their standing last year. To do this, the team will have to beat San Diego State and not drop to the loser’s bracket. The loser’s bracket would ensure no better than 9th.
The 2012 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship will be held from May 4to 6. In preparation for the tournament, the team will be working with the offense. They will be fine tuning the offense, working with shooting and ball movement.
“We’re going to shock some people,” Grucky says.
You can reach me at bcapria@asu.edu.
