The No. 14 IU water polo team has a chance for its eighth consecutive win, a feat the program hasn’t reached since 2017.
The Hoosiers will compete in the Hoosier Invite at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center this weekend. IU will face Mercyhurst University and California Lutheran University on Saturday, then McKendree University on Sunday morning.
IU was fueled by a mixture of scoring bursts and fundamental defense in its last two tournament sweeps. Most of the victories have been blowouts, which head coach Taylor Dodson said is a sign that the players are focused.
“We haven’t taken our foot off the gas, which can be a challenge sometimes,” Dodson said. “We’ve been able to maintain a high level of intensity throughout the entire game.”
Senior attacker Megan Abarta recorded 12 goals last weekend on her way to being named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation player of the week.
Although Abarta can score in bunches, Dodson said she is most impressed with her steady demeanor no matter the score.
“She’s one of our most consistent players on both sides of the ball,” Dodson said. “Plus, she’s one of the most positive players, so there’s not a lot of things that rattle Megan, which is key.”
IU has not faced a ranked team since Feb. 15. Competing against teams with weaker records has given the 16 underclassmen time to gain experience.
“We’re a deep team and keep getting deeper by the day,” Dodson said. “We’ll continue to get our younger group more experience, which is extremely important.”
This tournament will be the last time IU will play an unranked team for the rest of the regular season. Dodson said the team wants to secure wins before it hits the difficult stretch of the schedule.
“When we’re at home, we want to protect our pool and play our best water polo every game,” Dodson said.
