Women’s water polo at California Baptist University has been anything but wading through the season this spring.
The Lancers struggled at the start of the season, losing to No. 2 University of California, Berkeley and then to No. 5 San Jose State, the Lancers only came away with one victory in the Berkeley Invite.
CBU began to experience success during Lancer Invite #1, where they were victorious in three of the four games played. The Lancers also took the victory in both games of the Roadrunner Invitational against Hartwick and Brown.
Even with the speed bumps at the beginning of the season, the Lancers have had an overall successful season.
“This is my first year with the team so I can’t really compare this year with the others. But I can say that we became a really good team this year and we played really good games. Against No. 1 teams (USC, UCLA, etc).” Freshman, Laura Kocsis said. “I would say the biggest accomplishment of this season so far is our wins against UC Bakersfield and Pacific.”
Halfway through the season, the team has currently won 11 straight and hopes to continue the streak throughout the rest of the season.
Continuing to take away wins from the upcoming games could place the Lancers in the top 15 in the national rankings, they currently rank No. 20.
The team could give some credit for their success to their team chemistry. Bonding and being able to cooperate with teammates contributes to the overall attitude and motivation of the whole team.
“Our team is a very drama-less team, everybody gets along with everybody. I know it is hard to believe, but it is true. We don’t have any bad cliques, or players gossiping about each other. When we have time, we go to the beach together, or we just hang out at someone’s apartment and play games.“ Petra Kovacs, senior, said.
With eight regular season games left and then the National Invite in Fresno, the women are focused on taking down a few tough opponents to keep their run strong.
“We had a lot of one-goal losses last year, such as Cal State Northridge, Azusa Pacific, Santa Clara, Hartwick, this encourages us to practice even harder, and beat them this year. We beat Azusa Pacific and Santa Clara in this season already; and I feel we are ready for the challenge.” Kovacs said.
Kocsis recalls a game against UC Bakersfield, where the Lancers had a tight 9-5 win during the Cal Lutheran tournament.
“With CBU, my favorite game was against Bakersfield. We played really well; we had awesome team-work. I was really proud of my team,” Kocsis said.
Although a winning season is a fun accomplishment, the water polo bond goes further than a successful spring season.
“It gives you a family, lifelong friends, teaches you morals, humility, persistence, and to never give up, even if the situation looks lost. It gets you ready for real life,” Kovacs said.
The CBU women’s water polo team has one last home game Tue, April 10 at 4 p.m. against Azusa Pacific University.
