In water polo, getting wet is a requirement, but loving to swim isn't.
"(Freshman) Kristin Carpenter and I always tell ourselves that 'we love to swim' before we jump into the pool every day because we don't like to swim," sophomore Deb Simone said.
As ironic as that sounds, Simone has her reasons.
"That's why we play water polo instead of swimming," she said. "I got sick of swimming, and water polo is more exciting. It's like basketball and soccer combined in a pool."
Saturday and Sunday, the IU women's water polo team heads to Miami University (Ohio) for more excitement -- to compete at the Redhawk Invitational.
In the first year of Hoosier history as a varsity sport, the IU women's water polo team's 12-3-1 record and No. 16 national ranking show the high caliber of the team.
The Hoosiers hope their strengths will help produce wins at the upcoming tournament.
"We would like to go through the tournament unbeaten to get us prepared for next weekend at Big Ten's," said Jack Wagner, assistant women's water polo coach. "We are good at defense, and we are going to put emphasis on having a good counterattack."
To attack and win against the eight teams, IU will rely on its depth of 16 athletes and its quickness.
The two-day invitational is divided into two divisions, A and B. The Hoosiers will compete in Division B against Ohio University at 11:45 a.m., Notre Dame at 4:30 p.m. and Miami (Ohio) at 8:30 p.m. How IU fares Saturday will determine who its Division A opponent will be at 9 a.m. Sunday.
"Michigan and ourselves are the two best teams in the tournament," Wagner said. "We flipped a coin to see who would compete on the A team, and we lost."
The Hoosiers have high expectations of winning the tournament, hoping to face the highest-ranked competitor, Michigan, in the championship game. IU has never defeated the Wolverines as a club or varsity team.
"It's going to be a self-esteem booster," said Simone, who leads the Hoosiers with 25 goals for the season. "The only team that is going to be tough is Michigan."
