Water polo preps for varsity status

What comes to mind when you think of water polo? Anything? Anything at all?

Chances are, you don't really know a whole lot about this sport. You might've seen it in the Olympics once or twice, in between Kerri Strug highlights and Dream Team blowouts. Other than that, your knowledge of water polo is probably pretty minimal.

Which brings us to the events of this week. The Athletic Department approved the promotion of two club sports to varsity status, and, lo and behold, one of them is women's water polo (along with men's soccer). The promotion to varsity level is a landmark moment for the team.

"It's a terrific feeling to be upgraded to varsity status," Michigan head coach Scott Russell said. "We've been actively pursuing this for eight years, and it's a well-deserved reward for the girls on the team."

Michigan joins Indiana as the only Big Ten school with a varsity women's water polo team. As a result, the league doesn't have an official Big Ten championship. But for the last 10 years, an unofficial conference tournament has been played. The Wolverines have won it every single time.

"Michigan is a top school, and that attracts lots of people," Russell said. "The biggest key is that for a long time, the players have approached this as if it were a varsity sport. They train year-round like varsity athletes."

In a sport dominated by schools from the West Coast, the Wolverines have managed to carve out a niche as one of the top teams in the nation. The highest-ever rank for Michigan was fifth in 1995 - currently, the team is ranked 14th. The move to varsity status will only enhance the program's standing, according to Russell.

"All of the other schools out there know that Michigan will be one of the best very soon," Russell said. "We've been competitive for several years, but with more Division I programs now, the competition is only getting tougher. Other programs, like Stanford and UCLA, are lots stronger at this point, but we're getting better each year."

Michigan has a young team this year, with only one senior and two juniors. The squad is led by a pair of sophomores, forward Melissa Carjala, who leads the team in goals and steals, and goaltender Katy Armstrong. The two of them, along with team captain Rachel Nytin, provide leadership for the newer members of the team.

"We graduated a large senior class last year, and we have a large freshman class this year," Russell said. "The freshmen are talented, though."

One would think that without scholarships, the Wolverines would've been at a tremendous disadvantage against varsity teams like Massachusetts and Southern Cal all these years. While that may have been the case, Russell doesn't see club status as necessarily a bad thing.

"We've actually had some advantages being a club sport," Russell said. "One of the advantages is that we don't have to follow NCAA rules to the letter. If we want to start training a little early, for example in September, we are free to do so."

However, Russell admitted that the varsity teams do have some distinct advantages.

"One of the big drawbacks is that we don't have any trainers," Russell said. "Water polo is a physical sport, but when we have injuries, we're on our own. Another thing is that varsity teams can fly all over the country to compete, while we may have to pack 15 kids in a van and drive to Madison for a match.

"However, we look at these things as challenges, not obstacles. When we go in against top programs, we're still going to give it a good fight."

The next home match for Michigan will be May 7-9, when it hosts the NCAA Midwest Regional. The top two teams will qualify for the national championships, to be held at the University of California-Davis.

04-01-99