After a hard-fought fourth place finish in the Triton Invitational, ASU water polo is focused on the upcoming UCI Tournament and the matchup against the UC Irvine Anteaters.
"This is the most competitive tournament in the country," said ASU head coach Todd Clapper. "It is a 16-team tournament championship format and typically the top 16 teams in the country are here."
UCI currently has a 6-5 record and finished fifth in the Triton Invitational, just behind ASU. The Anteaters have a potent scorer in the form of sophomore utility player Mary Brooks, who leads the team with 19 goals on the season.
UCI compliments her scoring with a hard pressing defense that is effective in winning 50-50 battles.
Over the next few days, ASU water polo will be directing its practices toward preparing for the matchup against UCI, including watching videos on UCI's play style to look at the strategies they use.
Clapper said a hard pressing defense has been a key strategy for UCI in the past.
"They have had a really strong press defense, so they press and they out work their opponents," Clapper said. "They get out on the counter well and focus on winning every little battle."
To counter that, the Sun Devils will work on transition offense, counter attacks and driving patterns.
"If you are creating an advantage in transition, it becomes hard to press because there is someone free coming down," Clapper said. "Then, if you are moving, it is hard because you are likely to get excluded if the defender grabs too much."
In addition to those points in practice, freshman center Rosie Huck worked on her turns and her strength in the center.
"I need to work on my turns and finishes. ... I am continually turning and shooting," Huck said. "So when I get the ball in the game as a center I can just push, turn, shoot and score."
If ASU is able to get past UCI, they will play the winner of the matchup between the first and 16th seed teams. USC is currently the No. 1 team in the country, and will likely face the winner between ASU and UCI.
ASU begins the UC Irvine Invitational Tournament on Feb. 27 at Anteater Aquatics Complex at 10:30 a.m.
Related Links:
ASU water polo looks for consistency ahead of UCI tournament
ASU water polo gets fourth in Triton Invite
Reach the reporter at Graham.Paul@asu.edu or follow @GrahamASUpress on Twitter.
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