Team leads for first CWPA tournament

The water polo team heads to Erie, Penn., this weekend for its first trip to the Collegiate Water Polo Association tournament, where the Hoosiers will play four games. \nIU (4-3-1) earned a top-10 ranking from Sports Illustrated for Women this week and sits at No. 9 heading into its first game, which comes at 10 a.m. Saturday against Washington and Jefferson College, which reached the Collegiate III National Championships last season, finishing seventh. Washington and Jefferson coach Mike Orstein is the winningest coach in school history. \nIU doesn't get much of a rest after battling Washington and Jefferson, as it will hit the water again at 1:45 p.m. to meet Gannon University, which is in its first year of intercollegiate water polo. \nAfter taking a few hours off to re-charge, the Hoosiers will battle Grove City College at 8:15 p.m. Saturday. The Lady Wolverines are 1-2 in their inaugural season.\nThe Hoosiers play their final tournament game of the weekend Sunday, when they meet Penn State-Behrend. The Lions are yet to play their first game, opening their initial season in the CWPA tournament. \nCoach Barry King, in his fourth season, said he's pleased with where the Hoosiers are at this point. IU won two games at the Michigan Invite and lost to top-ranked Stanford before tying No. 11 Michigan. \n"So far, we seem to have followed the plan," King said. "Right now, our focus is to continue to improve and learn from every competition that we have."\nThe Hoosiers are ranked 18th in the latest National Collegiate Water Polo Top 20 poll and are led by a balanced attack. Fourteen different Hoosiers have scored goals this season and 13 have tallied assists. \nSophomore Kristin Stanford leads the Hoosier offense with 11 goals, seven assists and 13 steals. Senior Kristin Carpenter, who scored three goals in IU's 17-4 win against Slippery Rock at the Michigan Invite, is second on the team with eight goals. \nKing said the Hoosiers will focus on polishing their individual skills in Erie and implement some new ideas the coaching staff has added. \n"I really like the balance that we have shown on the offensive end, but there are a couple of people who need to sharpen up on the offensive end," Kind said. "If they do, we will be a very good team"