NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Sophomore Devon
McIntyre prepares to throw the ball to a teammate in a
match earlier in the season.
By Emily Whichard
Daily Bruin Contributor It’s rough, tough and at times,
downright dirty. Ripped clothing, broken noses and dislocated
shoulders are common. It’s not football. It’s women
water polo. Since the first woman hurled a dripping yellow ball
toward her netted target in the early part of the last century,
women’s water polo has been notorious as a physically taxing
and often violent sport. In fact, in 1926, women’s water polo
was suspended for 35 years. It was seen as too violent for women to
play. In the past 50 years, progress toward gender equality, the
inception of Title IX, and the fact that it’s just plain fun
has led to a gradual expansion of the sport. At the collegiate
level, most sports rely heavily upon the strength of the club and
high school program infrastructures for their recruits. Until 10
years ago, young women interested in water polo had to play
alongside men. But the growth of high school teams and club
programs for women since the early 1990s has created an
increasingly competitive state of collegiate play. UCLA Head Coach
Adam Krikorian hopes the trend will continue. “I think Title
IX’s effect on the growth of women’s programs will lead
to some challenges to the four powerhouses in the next few
years,” he said. “It’s exciting to see the sport
growing.” The four powerhouses Krikorian referred to are USC,
UCLA, Cal and Stanford. The national title has gone to one of these
four schools for the past five years. UCLA has claimed four of
those titles. With a small talent pool from which to recruit, and
the advantages of strong academic and athletic programs on their
side, the “big four” boast talent-laden lineups that no
other school can compete with yet. However, as Krikorian pointed
out, the increased availability of scholarships due to Title IX
should bolster the success of other programs in the years to come.
“Eventually, the talent pool will just be too large,”
Krikorian said. “School domination will begin to
disperse.” Furthermore, the addition of women’s water
polo to the 2000 Sydney Olympic games created a new water polo
fever. Many women representing the U.S. returned home, Olympic
silver medal in hand, to compete for their college teams once
again. In 2000 the sport finally reached the 40-team requirement to
acquire official NCAA sport status. On the heels of four national
championships in the past five years, UCLA entered the inaugural
season with a title to defend. Bringing with them Olympic and
national team members (including the U.S.’s leading scorer in
Sydney, Coralie Simmons), the Bruins are prepared to battle it out
against Stanford this weekend for the first NCAA title. It will be
an exciting moment for UCLA and for women’s water polo.
CHRONOLOGY OF WOMEN’S WATERPOLO Original
graphic by ADAM BROWN/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by HERNANE
TABAY/Daily Bruin Senior Staff