2004 marks a transition for UCSD women’s water polo, from the familiarity of last year’s core of seniors to the emergence of a young squad strong in depth but hounded by questions concerning experience and team chemistry.
Still, when the Tritons jump into the pool this season, the word “”rebuilding”” will be the farthest thing from their minds. They’ll be playing for the present, giving their all to play at the national championships held in May.
“”Let’s ‘Play in May,'”” head coach Larry Sanders said. “”This team is young, but we are still certainly shooting to play at the NCAA Championships in May.””
To make this wishful thinking a reality, the Tritons must overcome issues concerning the shortage of playing experience. Senior two-meter defender Meris Bantilan-Smith is the only starter remaining from a core group in 2003 that boasted three Division II All-Americans and four years’ worth of chemistry. In comparison, this year’s squad has only had five months in the pool to become used to each other’s style of play.
But the team has new, talented additions to the starting lineup to make up for the lost experience. Spending over a season tucked away in the shadows, seniors Lesha Bounds and Rachael Kleidon and juniors Jaemi Jackson and Jessica Wong climbed up the ranks and are ready to step up this year. Courtney Clevenger, a junior transfer from Sierra College, has parlayed her athleticism into a spot in the starting lineup in her first year on the team.
This year also marks the end of a tough comeback trail for goalie Stephanie Lombardo who, after sitting out last season with a torn shoulder labrum and bicep tendon, has reclaimed her spot between the posts. According to Lombardo, she still favors the shoulder a bit when she makes some blocks, but beat the 2003 starting goalkeeper Kaitlin Foe in a tight race for the position this upcoming season.
“”I told myself that if the surgery (which had a 20 percent chance of failure) went well, nothing was going to stand in my way of getting back in the pool,”” Lombardo said.
With senior Andrea Cornford handling the role of backup goalie for the third consecutive season, it is yet to be decided whether Foe will take a redshirt year.
Sanders has implemented a new driver-oriented offense that will focus on the importance of individual roles because of the team’s depth. The speed of drivers Jackson and Wong will be utilized more efficiently on fast breaks and counters, eliminating the lost time used to set up a two-meter oriented offense. Instead of having to sit and pass until an opportunity opens up at two meters, Kleidon, Clevenger and others will drive hard and often to move defenders around and create opportunity around the pool.
“”This offense gets the players to think, ‘How am I going to be drawing, moving, creating?'”” Sanders said. “”With speed and the counter, we’ll be a much more active team.””
The pillar of UCSD women’s water polo that has remained intact is a quick, relentless man defense that, according to Sanders, “”will win big games”” for his squad. It will keep opposing shots out of the net and the pressure off of the young Triton offense to get the tying goal.
Team captain Bantilan-Smith will be the defensive lynchpin and rely on experience and speed, which has proven essential to the UCSD counterattack in the past.
Despite the current concerns of team chemistry, a strong nonleague schedule will aid the transition of seven individual talents into one coherent mode of play. The tough non-conference schedule begins this weekend at the Michigan Kick-off Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., where UCSD will face Michigan, Marist (N.Y.), Indiana and Arizona State.
“”Each player has room to develop as the season goes along, and by getting each other to work hard and want to win, they’ll be in a better position to win some games,”” Sanders said.
And it might even give the team a chance to “”Play in May.””
