IU water polo has won three of its last five games and is looking to get another win Thursday against Wittenberg University at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center. The Hoosiers are coming off a dominant weekend against their opponents at the Indiana Classic.
This will be the first meeting in program history between IU and Wittenberg. The Tigers are entering their inaugural season in 2019, so their team is young and still building.
The Hoosiers should fair well in this match with their impressive freshman class being over halfway through their first collegiate season.
The Hoosiers saw great performances this past weekend from freshman attacker Tina Doherty, freshman utility Izzy Mandema, freshman utility Hannah Falls-Hand and freshman goalkeepers Mary Askew and Sarah Greeven.
The experienced Hoosiers that are going to play a big role Thursday are sophomore driver Juli Hilovsky, junior attacker Megan Abarta and junior driver Emily Powell. They have helped propel IU against tough opponents throughout the season.
Doherty continues to impress in her first season leading the team on the offensive side of the ball. The freshman leads the team in shots, goals and points through 14 games. Following close behind her is Abarta, who is second on the team in points after a big weekend at the Indiana Classic.
Strong performances from freshman attacker Molly McGuire haven’t gone unnoticed either. McGuire may not shoot the ball as much as Doherty or Mandema, but she still manages to assist on a large amount of goals. The freshman is currently in a three-way tie for most assists on the team with seven.
Greeven had her hands full in her home pool this past weekend and should expect more of that against Wittenberg. Greeven has played a total of 288 minutes in net this season, leading all other goalkeepers on the team. Greeven has stopped 70 shots on goal for IU so far in 2019.
Powell, Doherty and Mandema have led the charge for the Hoosiers on the defensive side of the ball so far this season. All three women have combined for 46 of the teams 98 steals. Expect the Hoosiers to use their defensive force on a new and unfamiliar team like the Tigers.
IU will wrap up its home stretch against Wittenberg at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center.
