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The Rice Thresher
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by Wei-Han Tan for the thresher There's a new kid on the block in women's club water polo. In the first Collegiate Water Polo Association tournament in Rice history last weekend, the Owls went undefeated and took home the title. They came away with close wins over powers University of Texas and Texas A&M University, scored a win over Trinity University and registered a forfeit win over Baylor University. Following the weekend's performance, the Owls are now ranked first in the all-Texas division. To prepare for the tournament, the team focused on its offensive sets and execution. Senior captain Molly Heinz said their dedication paid off. Prior to this tournament, UT and A&M had consistently defeated the Owls. "We have been practicing especially hard in preparation for this tournament," Heinz said. "On top of the hours in the water, all of the girls voluntarily weight-trained prior to practice and also put in extra time swimming on their own." A&M was the first highly ranked team the women faced in the tournament. Within the first few minutes of the match, Rice got a surge of confidence after jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead. The Owls outlasted the Aggies and captured a 9-8 victory. "Everyone played well individually, but if we hadn't played as a team, we could not have won," sophomore Jeannie Malanowski said. "Individually A&M was better - they have really big girls - but we played together as a team better than they did." The UT game was Rice's last of the weekend, and the match went into overtime. With nine seconds left, freshman Kelly Benedict scored the game-winning goal to give the Owls a 5-4 win. "[Freshman] Millie Marmer gave me a great pass and I shot the ball," Benedict said. "It felt great." The team's next tournament, held at Baylor, will decide the seeds for the all-Texas division championship tournament. Both UT and A&M will be there, seeking to reestablish themselves as the top schools in the division. "We need to remember that we only beat them by one point," Benedict said. "It's time to step it up."
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