By Katie Richcreek
Azusa Pacific women’s water polo kicks off their conference schedule at home on Saturday, March 21. Although it’s not usual for sports to have their first home contest 17 games into the campaign, the young program is part of something quite unique.
After competing independently for five seasons, the Cougars joined six other collegiate programs in California to form the Golden Coast Conference which began competition in 2014, making this just the second season of play.
Since there are a small number of programs nationally, there is no division separation. This means university athletic programs classified as NCAA Division I in all other sports, such as San Diego State and Loyola Marymount, are not considered any different than Azusa Pacific. In fact, both of those schools also belong to the GCC along with Pacific and Santa Clara. Keep an eye out for a full breakdown of the history in the coming weeks.
The Cougars will host Pacific in the conference opener set to begin at 11 a.m.