Cougars look to succeed from leadership and a new-found speed in what may be the fastest team APU has ever had
The Azusa Pacific water polo team is entering their 2018 season with high expectations as they prepare for their first action of the season this weekend in the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invitational.
Last year, APU finished the season going 14-15 and made it to the semi-finals of the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) Tournament. It was the best season that APU has had since 2011 in terms of winning percentage, where the team went 15-15.
This season, the Cougars look to get above .500 for the first time in program history (since it began back in 2009).
“We want to beat the record and statistics that we had last year and finish in the top three teams in our conference. There are plenty of teams that we really want to beat this year and be able to compete with other big universities,” junior center Mar Pastor Alvarez said.
Half of this year’s team is composed of upperclassmen, while the other half are underclassmen. Head coach Julie Snodgrass will look at her two seniors, attacker Britt Harris and goalkeeper Erica Marquez, to be the biggest leaders both in and out of the pool for the team.
Harris has been one of the most dangerous offense players for the Cougars over the past few years and Marquez has been solid as goalie. Snodgrass noted how important Marquez’s role is in the defense.
“The goalie is an important role in general, but as captain and as our starting goalie, [Marquez] has the confidence of her teammates and confidence in herself, her own ability, and the capacity of her teammates to implement the defense that she knows and directs,” Snodgrass said.
Perhaps the biggest difference for the team this year will be their bench and the speed that comes off of it. Coach Snodgrass is excited to see a new and improved bench and believes that this is the fastest team she has ever had here at APU.
“I think we’ve improved most off the bench. As a whole, we have improved our depth and brought in some freshmen that will be able to make some impactful opportunities… we have a lot of tools this year and I think that is something that will be able to give us some longevity throughout all four quarters,” Snodgrass said. “If we can be confident in just moving the ball and having steadiness, that’s a big deal. This is the fastest team we’ve ever had, but we’re in a fast conference.”
Marquez, echoed what Snodgrass stated, regarding the speed of the freshmen, and is excited with what the team will be able to do this year compared to previous seasons.
“The freshmen will be adding a lot more speed to the team, which will allow us to do a lot more things in the water that we’ve never been able to do in this program’s history… our team has grown in leaps and bounds and we’re slowly building this program back up,” Marquez said. “We’re coming for all of the team’s in our conference. We don’t want to be taken lightly, we’re a serious team.”
On Friday, the Cougars competed in two matches in the UCSB Winter Invitational, going 1-1. APU was edged out 6-7 by Cal State Northridge before defeating Fresno Pacific University in a 16-12 shootout. The Cougars will finish the invitational by taking on UC San Diego on Saturday.