Water Polo travels to Ann Arbor for conference championships

The IU water polo team will head back on the road for what will be an end to its season or a ticket into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003.\nThe No. 17 Hoosiers (19-14) will open up the weekend against the sixth-seeded Maryland Terrapins on Friday. Though the Hoosiers beat the Terrapins twice this season, IU coach Barry King believes no team should be overlooked.\n“We can’t go there with any assumptions or any expectation of success,” King said. “We have to approach each contest as the individual scenario that it is and try to play our best water polo every time we get in the water.”\nSenior standout Brooke Zimmerman said this is by far the most competitive field that has been in this conference championship.\n“Eastern is almost a different league,” Zimmerman said. “The competition is ridiculous, and everything is going to be close. ... We really just have to be ready to play.”\nAlthough the only team competing this weekend that the Hoosiers have not defeated is Michigan, King is certain his team can go all the way.\n“We are just as capable of winning it as any other team,” he said. “We have demonstrated that we have the capability of beating each school there. ... It’s just a matter of putting it together three times in a row.”\nJunior Maggie Hannon said practice this week has been about perfecting plays.\n“It’s about working on details when it is postseason time,” Hannon said. “We aren’t going to get in better shape or learn something new, so it’s about making sure we do everything we already know right.”\nAs Zimmerman prepares for what could be her final career game, she remains positive that every play will count.\n“We can’t look ahead, we have to take it game by game ... even within a game, minute by minute,” she said.\nAt the conclusion of practice the Hoosiers expressed their determination to excel.\n“It’s now or never,” Hannon said. “We have worked this hard all year and we played our whole season. ... We know we can beat these teams, we just have to do it.”