Editor’s Note: Over summer, the Daily Californian will be releasing its power rankings of Cal’s sports as decided by the Daily Cal sports staff. Stay tuned for No. 10 and No. 9 next week!
Everyone knows what Cal is. Mention it, and people recognize it immediately: It’s the No. 1 public university in the world, known for its academics and its impressive athletic programs. Cal women’s water polo is no exception.
Despite falling short of NCAAs this year, the No. 5 Cal women’s water polo team proved it could compete with the best of the best. Sure, they lost to the top four teams in the nation throughout the season, but they gave them a run for their money. These games were all close — usually coming down to a goal or two in the final quarter. And let’s think about the fact that Cal had to play the top four teams in the whole United States. The MPSF is home to USC, ASU, UCLA, Stanford and Cal, rounding out the top five teams in the country — all competing for only three bids for the NCAA tournament.
The Bears did not use the level of competitiveness as an excuse for their lack of wins. For the first half of the season, Cal was inconsistent in its play. And maybe if the Bears had not dug themselves into such a deep hole during the season, they wouldn’t have had to win the MPSF tournament to make it to NCAAs.
The little details within Cal’s game were the things that held the team back — mainly the lack of consistency from its defense. But there was a gradual and visible improvement as the season went on, and the dream of returning to the NCAAs came to a close with a nail-biting, heart-wrenching ending in a 4-3 loss to No. 4 UCLA.
The recurring theme of the Cal and UCLA matches was the lack of defense for the Bears during the last quarter. But in their final showdown of the season, UCLA just managed to win by a ball that was deflected and tipped off the hand of a Cal defender in the final minute of the game.
Some might consider this one of the more disappointing seasons in women’s water polo, especially because the team finished the NCAAs in second place just last season. But its failure to make an appearance at the NCAAs does not mean the season itself was a failure.
Emily Csikos, who is currently training with the Canadian National team for the 2016 Olympics, was a consistent offensive force throughout the season for the Bears, eventually breaking the school all-time record with 215 goals in her career.
Along with Csikos, graduated seniors Dana Ochsner and Breda Vosters were named All-MPSF for the season. The Bears also had three players on the top-25 scorers list for the league, and the team was recently selected to represent the United States in the World University Games this summer.
It might seem like a minor detail because of the high expectations that come along with our school, but being ranked No. 5 in the country is a big deal. And let’s be honest: These girls could still swim laps around you any day of the week. So give credit where credit is due, and tip your hats off to the Cal women’s water polo team.
Alicia Fong covers women’s water polo. Contact her at [email protected]