Indiana University Athletics
On The Road With Claire Nicholson and Kelly Palmberg
2/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 6, 2007
Throughout the 2007 season, members of the Indiana water polo team will keep a diary of their travels for IUHOOSIERS.com. Senior Claire Nicholson and freshman Kelly Palmberg checked in from the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.
Friday, Feb. 2
Arriving bright and early on Friday morning ready to catch our plane to California, we found out that our flight had gotten cancelled. In true Hoosier fashion, we laughed it off and luckily were able to all fit on another flight leaving at the same time.
After a long flight we arrived in sunny California, which, however, was not so warm. Once we got our bags and vans without any problems, things were looking up. On our way into Palo Alto, our drive was thoroughly educational with commentary from Coach Kandace. We learned about "ghost riding the whip," how dangerous it is, and how we could see it on YouTube if we wanted a demonstration of what not to do. After that, we went straight to the pool to watch some of our competition for the weekend and reunite with our loving parents. Watching some of the other teams play really got us in the zone for the weekend and also gave us a hearty appetite. We then were allowed to venture into downtown Palo Alto to get dinner on our own. After gorging ourselves with Plato's salad magic, we met back at the hotel for a quick (head coach) Barry (King) pep talk. His words of wisdom helped us foresee what we were to achieve for the games ahead.
Saturday, Feb. 3
Waking up for us was not a problem on Saturday due to the time change, so we were raring to go!!! After a quick bite to eat, we went to the pool early to watch some games and get warmed up for ours. Our first match of the tournament was against the No. 5 Hawaii Rainbow Wahini. Although our efforts were at their best, we still came up short. However, it was really good to play such a physical team to prepare us for upcoming games.
After the game we grabbed a bite to eat and then rested for our next game against Cal, which also turned out to be a very physical and challenging game for us. Even with the loss we walked away with our heads up and our bellies empty. The Goldners' were nice enough to invite us back to their home for a team dinner even though their daughter Jessie (a former Hoosier goalie) graduated in 2005. We were able to spend time with our parents and hear embarrassing stories about everyone's childhood. We returned to the hotel late and went to bed immediately since we had to be up at 7 a.m. for our game against UCLA.
Sunday, Feb. 4
In the morning we returned to the pool after getting some breakfast and warmed up for our first game. Unfortunately we lost to the second-ranked team in the nation, 10-3, however the experience we gained from the game will help us for future tournaments. We quickly left to check out of our hotel and grab a quick snack at Kandace's former place of employment, Jamba Juice. There was not much time in between games so we returned to the pool deck promptly. We played a tough game and came up short again. Overall, we really felt good about the experience we gained over the weekend with playing four highly-ranked teams.
We grabbed some lunch at Wahoo's Fish Tacos and parted ways with our families. The Goldners once again invited us to their home to watch the Bears vs. Colts game. In watching the Super Bowl game we finally got our victory, led by Peyton Manning of the Colts. With more time to kill until our red eye flight, we went to hang out at Knuckles and nearly got kicked out due to a peanut war. The bar/restaurant had a quite an array of locals and JT (senior Jaclyn Tameris) hosted a mustard tasting contest. Needless to say, it saved us from getting the boot. Overall, it was a fabulously magical riveting good time.
You think you know but you have no idea. This is the diary for Indiana University Water Polo team.
