No. 11 Indiana women’s water polo will travel to Irvine, California this weekend to compete in the University of California, Irvine Invite. The team is coming off a 4-0 weekend at home after defeating Saint Francis University, then No. 13 Wagner College, then No. 11 University of Pacific and Salem University.
This weekend’s tournament is dedicated to Barbara Kalbus, a 1993 inductee into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. Kalbus is remembered as a team manager of the U.S. men’s team and a water polo historian. She devoted her career to increasing the public’s level of respect for water polo.
As an NCAA secretary and rules editor, Kalbus strictly enforced the rules of water polo to help the sport be deemed professional. After Kalbus died in 2016, the tournament was renamed The Barbara Kalbus Invitational in her honor.
Indiana will begin its tournament play against No. 7 Arizona State University. The Sun Devils hold a 5-3 record with wins over then No. 6 Michigan and then No. 17 San Jose State University. Arizona State’s losses should be taken lightly, as two of them came against then No. 1 Stanford University and No. 4 University of California, Berkley.
Senior defender Lara Kiss is a returning star for the Sun Devils. In the past season she collected 54 points, received all conference honors and had the second highest number of assists in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation league.
If Indiana beats Arizona State, it will face the winner of No. 2 University of Southern California and No. 23 Loyola Marymount University. If the Hoosiers lose to the Sun Devils, they will face the loser of that matchup.
Indiana previously faced USC on Feb. 4. The Hoosiers lost to the Trojans 16-7 at the UCSD Triton Invitational.
Indiana’s final opponent of the weekend will be determined on the results of its first two games. The Hoosiers' first game against Arizona State will begin at 6 p.m. Friday in Irvine, California.
