After setting the school record with 27 wins in 2012, the IU water polo team now knows the path ahead to repeat such a performance. The schedule for 2013 was announced Wednesday by IU Coach Barry King.
"This schedule once again puts us up against some of the best teams in the country," King said in a press release. "And we also get to play in front of our home crowd on two separate weekends so we are looking forward to that. It should be a very exciting year and I know the team is really looking forward to it."
The season begins with two double-headers in as many days in Ann Arbor, Mich. for the Michigan Kick-Off. On Jan. 19, the Hoosiers will take on San Jose State at 10:30 a.m., followed by Colorado State at 4 p.m. Then, on Jan. 20, IU will face San Diego State at 9:10 a.m. and seven-time national champion UCLA at 2:45 p.m.
IU's only home matches will take place Feb. 23-24 in the Fluid Four competition and March 30 against heated rival Michigan as the final regular season contest. The showdown begins at noon.
The other regular season highlight occurs March 23, when IU will battle Notre Dame (Ohio) College and Gannon University to begin CWPA league play.
For postseason play, the Hoosiers will participate in the CWPA Western Championships April 13-14 before competing in the CWPA Eastern Championships April 26-28. Should IU come out on top after these two tournaments, the team will clinch an automatic berth into the eight-team NCAA Championships tournament that takes place May 10-12 in Cambridge, Mass. The last time IU qualified for the NCAAs was 2011, when it went 1-2 and finished sixth.
The full schedule can be found here: http://www.iuhoosiers.com/sports/w-wpolo/sched/ind-w-wpolo-sched.html
