After a long stretch of traveling for away games, the women’s water polo team will finally be able to play on its home turf, Spieker Aquatic Center. Following a week of regular practice during spring break, the team will be kicking off the quarter with its first home game of the season.
The No. 2 Bruins will have their first home game Saturday and will host the Bruin Invitational on Sunday. The Bruins (17-2) have been working hard following their 4-3 victory over Cal last Friday.
The team has looked solid throughout the later stretch of the season, winning six most recent games against schools like George Washington, Bucknell and Michigan. Freshman attacker Lizette Rozeboom said she is optimistic about the team’s progress over the past few months.
“I think we’re ready for this tournament,” Rozeboom said. “What we saw against Cal was that our communication on defense is getting a lot better. Our defense is pretty solid, so I think that’s something we’re pretty consistent in.”
This year’s group is relatively fresh compared to its competitors, so coach Brandon Brooks has been placing a lot of focus and emphasis on strengthening the team’s synergy.
“Our rivals have a little more experience than we do, so we need to make the most out of our practices,” Brooks said. “I think we need to cut down turnovers, become better and more aware passers, and I think we need to be sharper on our 6-on-5.”
However, he noted the players have made significant progress and the work is paying off.
“All year long, I’ve been happy that we can see improvement in the areas that we’ve worked on,” Brooks said. “In the last few weeks, we’ve worked more on defense … and judging by the Cal game, we did a good job with defensive pressure.”
Freshman defender Rachel Whitelegge noted that the team has set many goals for its first home game of the season.
“I think we’re trying to press out the other teams a lot, limit their offense and work on our defense to see how that can translate into our counterattack,” Whitelegge said.
UCLA is currently scheduled to play San Jose State on Saturday before facing Redlands on Sunday and Pomona-Pitzer later that afternoon.