This weekend, the No. 11 IU water polo team will partake in the Claremont Convergence in Pamona, Calif. The Hoosiers will face four Division III teams - No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, No. 2 Cal Lutheran, No. 4 Redlands and No. 5 Occidental.
This will be a break from a tough schedule that has featured 10 Division I opponents with a ranking of No. 16 or better so far.
After this weekend, IU will compete in the Lancer Invite in Riverside, Calif. on March 15 and the Aztec Invitational in San Diego on March 16-17. In between, the team will stay out west for spring break and practice in Las Vegas to stay sharp.
Here are IU Coach Barry King's, junior attacker Shae Fournier's and junior attacker Meghan Lappan's thoughts on the upcoming schedule.
On taking a break from a rough schedule to play four D III schools:
King: "We want contests in that those groups want to play us too, so it's mutually beneficial. We hope that we perform well, and we treat them equally the same. We want to hopefully be able to get better with each contest that we're playing. The end of the week is a bit more loaded as far as ranked teams go, so we're hoping that these can kind of help us build and get better and get us ready for the end of the week."
Fournier: "I think it will be good to put everything together and just have things work for us. It's hard working against good teams when we know we're playing well but it's just a tough match, so this will be good for us."
Lappan: "It's always great to get a variety of teams and not see the same ones over and over again and try out new things."
On how this weekend will set the team up for the following week:
King: "I think a lot of people will get a lot of time. We'll have a lot of opportunities to get sharper, to work on some things that maybe you don't get as expressed in games against the ranked teams that tend to be a little bit more of grinds. Hopefully we'll get a little bit more confidence in what we're doing offensively."
Fournier: "I think we'll be excited to play them, and we'll be fired up after a week of playing already."
Lappan: "Earlier on in the week, it helps us prepare for what we need to do to beat those teams on offense and defense."
On if they will try anything new against the smaller schools:
King: "Not gimmicks, but we might try people in some new positions or things like that, just things that are a little bit outside of what they have been doing right now to see if we can expand their roles."
Fournier: "No, I think we're always focused on what we need to do, and we definitely keep more focus on doing what we did in practice and trying to follow through with our game plan. I think that shows through more, because we just have the time to be able to do that."
Lappan: "I don't think so. I think it's best to work on what you do best and improve each game so that when you come against the big teams, we'll be ready for them."
On if they are worried about possibly overlooking any of the D III teams:
King: "We always worry about not being prepared for each game individually, and so we make sure that we are."
Fournier: "I'm not worried we will, I know if we did, they could definitely upset us, so we just need to go and focus, but I think we're pretty ready for that, so we're excited for some games after a weekend off, and we'll be ready to play."
Lappan: "I don't think so. I think every game you should take it in the same way. Be competitive and not lose yourself on the way."
On what to expect from Redlands after facing them the past two seasons:
King: "(Redlands Coach) Tom (Whittemore) and I have been good friends for a long time, and we always enjoy playing them. They're exceptionally well-coached and prepared and disciplined. Even though we've had the better of it for a while now, they always prove to be a stern test and are exactly the kind of contest that we're looking for over spring break where it's not a walk-over and provides some resistance to us trying to do what we want to do."
Fournier: "They definitely have some heart to play, so they are gonna come out strong. They are gonna try to win as hard as they can, so we just need to make sure we don't come out flat."
Lappan: "They're one of those teams that's gonna keep coming and coming. They're never gonna give up when we're playing them, so just be ready to give as much heart as they do."
On spring break:
King: "We stay out there in between and train and try to hunker down and not travel as much and get ready."
Fournier: "Definitely (excited). It's gonna be nice to get away from the snow, and we'll just be doing what we want - playing water polo and being in the sun, so we'll be happy."
Lappan: "Really excited. It's nice to get away from the snow and get some new scenery, especially California, where a lot of these girls are from. Vegas, too. We get to see our parents, who come cheer us on. When we go to Vegas, we can go to the hotels and see what's there."
