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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports water polo

IU looks to get revenge in Michigan

The opportunity to put last season behind them is upon the members of the IU water polo team, as they travel today to Ann Arbor to start the year at the Michigan Kick-Off.

Senior attacker Kelsey Campbell said this is a date that the team has had marked on the calendar for a while.

“I think from day one on campus we’ve been working,” Campbell said. “It’s the most intensity we’ve brought. We’re all determined. We know this is a big year for us.”

Fueling that intensity is a 7-5 loss to Michigan in the CWPA Eastern Championship game last season. That defeat left the team one win short of securing an NCAA Tournament berth.

Coach Barry King said his team responded quickly after that contest.

“It took them about three minutes after we lost that game to set their resolve as far as not letting that happen again,” King said. “I knew really quickly after that match that we didn’t have a whole lot to worry about as far as their preparation for the season.”

Attacker Jakie Köhli established a new school scoring record as a sophomore, netting 80 goals. If opponents plan their game around stopping her now as a junior, King said, the rest of the team will be better capable of scoring.

“She’ll be a focus,” King said. “They’ll send maybe their best perimeter defender at her early. That would be to their detriment, though. We are a tremendously balanced group. If people try to spend energy on shutting her down, they’ll pay a price someplace else.”

Six starters returned to this year’s Hoosiers’ squad. Four of the team’s seven seniors have combined for 394 goals and 290 starts.

Added pressure comes with being the No. 13 team in the land.
“The expectations go up,” King said. “Experience is obviously one of those key components of success. We have our share of experience out there.”

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