Women's Water Polo Prepares for Season

By Gabe Taylor

With little time to prepare following the holidays, the Santa Clara women's water polo team is revving up for the 2012 season.

The Broncos, who will kick off their campaign this Friday against UC Santa Barbara at 3:30 p.m., will feature nine new faces — three transfers and six freshmen. If the start of this season mimics the end of last season, then the Santa Clara women's water polo team is in for a good ride. After closing out conference play on a 5-2 run, and an overall Western Water Polo Association record of 10-6, the Broncos secured a third place conference finish.

"As a team, we improved a lot over the course of the season last year, so having a strong finish definitely brings us momentum going into this season," said Head Coach Keith Wilbur, acknowledging that the team lost leading goal-scorer Taylor Harkins among other key players.

Conditioning has been the primary focus for the Broncos, who have taken to scrimmages in practice to prepare for in-game situations.

"I still think the beginning of the season's going to be a little bit of learning and growing," said Wilbur, explaining that "growing pains" may occur early in the season.

According to senior Marina Allen, who recorded 34 goals and 35 assists last season, the quick pace of the team is enabling the Broncos to engage in swift counter-attacks.

As the weeks have progressed, the players are meshing to a greater extent. And being on the same page is a plus.

"We communicate really well," said Allen. "Outside the pool we're really close to each other, which really helps inside the pool."

Despite the high number of newcomers, Wilbur is confident that the recruiting class will deliver. According to Wilbur, it is likely that some of the younger players will receive substantial playing time and opportunities to contribute.

Among the top prospects is former San Jose Mercury News Women's Water Polo Player of the Year, Julia Peters. Peters, however, has been plagued with a sprained ankle that is keeping her out of the water indefinitely.

"When she's healthy and able to play, I think she's going to definitely be able to help us win some games this year," commented Wilbur.

According to Wilbur, a timeline for her return has not been set, but he is hopeful that the injury only keeps her sidelined for the "first couple of weeks."

"I do know that she will be back during the season, as long as nothing else happens," said Wilbur, adding later that his "preference is to be more careful and make sure there is full recovery."

Spanning from Friday until Sunday afternoon, Santa Clara will face off against five opponents. The Broncos open the season tomorrow against UC Santa Barbara, before embarking on a brief ride to San Jose where they will compete at the San Jose State University Spartan Invitational.  

After finishing third in the WWPA last season, the expectations have been officially upgraded. Landing at the top of their conference stands as the overarching goal heading into the season.

But that remains in the distant future. For now, it's about starting off on the right foot.

"There's a lot of things that go on before our (WWPA) tournament," said Allen. "We just want to be able to win the games we need to win, get some upsets, and get some experience before we go into our conference tournament so that we're more confident."

Contact Gabe Taylor at gtaylor@scu.edu or (408) 554-4852.