W. water polo not just treading water during time off
Team practices two times a day, injured enjoy needed rest
By Mark J. Dittmer
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s water polo team still has nine days of rest
before its next match on March 8 in Stanford. But, different people
have different definitions of rest.
The No. 1 Bruins see rest as a time where they practice twice
every day.
"I think we get a lot done in practice," head coach Guy Baker
said. "I think we make a lot of progress as a team during this time
period. I enjoy it."
The Bruins hope not only to improve, but to see a lot of their
injured players get back to full strength. Stephanie Natcher, Jenn
Cady and Molly Barnes are injured players that have already seen
action this season; the layoff should especially benefit them.
That is not to say that the three of them have been struggling
with their injuries so far. Natcher has six goals this season and
Barnes has three in three attempts. Cady, returning only two games
ago, has already made an impact by scoring once and passing well in
the win over USC.
* * *
The Bruins welcome back freshmen Coralie Simmons, Mandy McAloon
and Catherine von Schwarz, who were gone for an entire week trying
out for the U.S. junior national team. All three of them made the
team.
"I’m really excited," Baker said. "They went (to the tryouts in
Colorado) expecting to make it, and I’m happy that they did make
it."
International experience is nothing new to von Schwarz or
Simmons. Von Schwarz played on the junior national team last
summer, and Simmons played on the national team. This year, they
hope to do both.
* * *
Most coaches agree that statistics are not very important, but
it is interesting to see the impressive stats UCLA has piled up.
The Bruins have made 80 percent of their shots this season, led by
Simmons, who has scored 16 goals in 17 attempts. She is scoring
four goals a game, more than some entire teams score.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Nicholle Payne has kept her goals-against
average at 3.13, more than two goals a game lower than her average
last season, when she was named an All-American.Comments to
webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu