Flynn leads team into championships

By Alison Fleck

The Santa Clara women's water polo team heads to Davis, California this weekend for the Western Water Polo Association Championships. The Broncos finished their regular season April 20 with an 8-6 win over Sonoma State to give them an overall record of 17-15. Despite some tough losses to higher-ranked teams, head coach Keith Wilbur is proud of how his team finished this season.

"It's been frustrating trying to climb to that next level, but it's been a successful season," Wilbur said. "It is hard transitioning from a good team to an even better and more competitive one, but the girls are proving themselves, and I'm proud of them. We won 8-6 to University of Pacific, who we had lost to twice before. We haven't had one let down and are getting closer and closer to those big wins."

The Broncos have improved their game since last year by being faster swimmers in the water and being more defensively organized. The intensity level has also increased as each girl comes mentally focused and prepared for each game.

"What I learned most from this season is that when you have great team chemistry, it makes a huge difference," sophomore utility Katie Radvanyi said. "You know each other's every move, every thought and you just get along so well. The program has really come a long way."

The Broncos have been led this season by seniors Catherine Flynn and Erin Scollin. Despite a talented incoming freshmen class next year, the loss of these two players will hurt the team's dynamic. Flynn was the team captain, leading the squad in goals scored and functioning as a great leader.

"What I will miss most is definitely my team," Flynn said. "I've never been part of such a tight-knit group both in and out of the pool. And all the girls are extremely pumped for this tournament, which gets me excited. We only have to focus on one game a day so we're going to go after each team."

Seeded fourth of twelve teams, the Broncos hope to have big wins against No. 1 Loyola Marymount, No. 2 University of California at Davis and No. 3 University of California at San Diego.

The Broncos lost to these top teams earlier in the season, but kept the score within one or two points.

"We've been seeded fifth in the past, so by being fourth, it puts us in a good position for advancement," Wilbur said.

"We have to win the first game to maintain us in the top four. And then we will challenge Loyola Marymount, Davis and San Diego."

The only advantage these teams have over the Broncos is more confidence. Junior Lindsey Bacolini explains how these teams go into games knowing they should win since they are ranked higher.

But since the Broncos have seen these teams in the past, they are focusing their practices on strategies against each team and working on specialty sets and plays.

"We know how to approach these teams since we've played them before," Radvanyi said. "We know their weak points and will capitalize on them. Each part of our game is going to be fine-tuned."

If the Broncos win their first game on Friday, they will advance to play Loyola Marymount on Saturday.

"LMU has a couple of girls who are very big and strong, which creates a powerful force in front of the goal," Bacolini said. "So we just need to play really good defense that game and stop them from scoring because I know our offense will score."

Besides the defense stopping opposing threats, everyone on the team in general will have to step up their game if they want to see different results. This kind of focus allows for quick turn-arounds and counterattacks made by the offense. Bacolini helps the defense prevent the ball from falling into the hands of dangerous players on the opposing team, which forces them to take bad shots from the outside.

"We have lots of offensive threats on our team, such as Catherine Flynn," Bacolini said.

"So if we keep teams from scoring, we'll win. I know it's cliche, but it's true, the offense wins games and the defense wins championships."

In preparation for the tournament, the Broncos are practicing every day until they leave for Davis. The girls are extremely focused and prepared to be successful. Flynn says that she's always a little nervous before each game even after eight years of playing water polo, but that this nervousness is good because it pumps her adrenaline, getting her psyched up for her upcoming endeavors.

"I look to myself to lead the team in scoring and to help them play their best game," Flynn said. "I'm honored to be their captain because this program has completely improved since last year, and we definitely have a chance to win the WWPAs."

The Broncos play their first game Friday at 1:45 p.m. in Davis.

* Contact Alison Fleck at (408) 554-1918 or afleck@scu.edu.