Hoosiers Begin Home Stand with 2019 Indiana Classic

Bloomington, Ind. – The Indiana University water polo team begins their first home defense of the season this weekend at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center, hosting the 2019 Indiana Classic. The invite brings in a total of six teams with a five-game spread for the Hoosiers including two top-25 match-ups.

No. 20 Indiana looks to defend their home grounds as they kick-off the weekend tournament on Friday evening facing Salem University. The Hoosier will be put to the test as they go on to play their first top-25 game of the weekend against No. 15 Wagner on Saturday evening. Indiana will be challenged during another two-game day on Sunday, closing out the Indiana Classic with a final face off against No. 23 CSU Northridge. You can catch all five IU games on BTN Plus and FloSwimming.

Last Action
The Hoosiers return to the comforts of the CBAC after losing an upsetting two games in California two weeks ago. The team first faced No. 1 USC for the second time this season in a rematch battle. This marked Indiana's second MPSF conference match-up of the year, but the Hoosiers were unable to pull off a win leaving the team with a 0-2 conference record.

Indiana then went on to face No. 7 UC Irvine the following day where the Hoosiers posted a strong defensive stand against the Anteaters. The team collected a combined 11 steals and 12 drawn exclusions. In the end the Anteaters proved to be a tough opponent defeating the Hoosiers 6-12.

Leading the Hoosiers to Victory
Juniors Megan Abarta and Emily Powell manage to maintain a strong presence on both ends of the pool this season. On the offensive attack Abarta holds a team high of six assists to go with seven goals, while Powell has tossed in another five goals to go with three assists. Defensively Powell has snagged a team high 10 steals while grabbing four field blocks.

This year's freshman class continues to show their dominance in the pool as they lead Indiana in scoring with a class total of 30 goals. Attacker Tina Doherty holds the team's season high of 14 goals, while Izzy Mandema trails closes behind with another eight. Mandema also holds a team season high of 29 drawn exclusions to go with four steals and four field blocks.

Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Greeven has taken over her role in the net grabbing a total of 40 steals in the five games she's played giving her a 7.27 savers-per-game average. Greeven's success in the goal has led her to hold the No. 8 rank in the MPSF conference for goalkeeper saves.

Match-Up of the Weekend
Indiana's show down of the weekend will be played on Saturday evening as the Hoosiers challenge No. 15 Wagner in their 17^thall-time series match-up. Indiana will meet the Seahawks in their home pool for the sixth time as they look to collect their 17^thwin over the top-25 team.

Head coach Ryan Castle looks to challenge the Seahawks as well as all four of the other opposing teams on both ends of the pool as the Hoosier hope to close out the weekend with a perfect 5-0 home stretch.

#GoIU

Hoosiers Begin Home Stand with 2019 Indiana Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Megan Abarta

Tina Doherty

Sarah Greeven

Izzy Mandema

Emily Powell

Indiana University Athletics