BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After a long offseason, the 2016 NCAA water polo season is right around the corner. The Hoosiers are building from a successful 2015 season, finishing with a No. 11 national ranking and amidst a three-way tie at the top of the CWPA. This season, head coach Barry King and the Hoosiers look to extend their success, with their sights set on the CWPA Championship and a return to the NCAA Championships in Los Angeles, Calif.
While the Hoosiers lost six valuable seniors to graduation over the summer, they return a group filled with talent across all classes and position groups. This week, IUHoosiers.com will breakdown this year’s team by position, taking a look at the team’s new leaders and new faces of Indiana Water Polo.
Indiana’s defensive unit plans to make waves in 2016. Sophomore Kelly Matthews returns after a record-setting freshman year in 2015, and redshirt freshman Karrie Kozokar will take the pool in competitive play for the first time as a Hoosier.
The Defenders: Kelly Matthews (So.), Karrie Kozokar (r-Fr.)
Matthews was one of the greatest secrets in collegiate water polo last season. Opposing teams focused their defensive efforts on members of Indiana’s senior class, dynamic playmakers like Colleen McNaught,Rebecca Gerrity, and Shelby Taylor. Because of this, Matthews found a lot of scoring opportunities in her freshman year, and she did well to convert them.
Matthews led the Hoosiers with 73 goals last season, the sixth-highest single-season total in IU history and an Indiana record for freshmen. She received numerous honors from the CWPA, including the 2015 Rookie of the Year award at the end of the season. The Roxboro, Quebec native will face additional pressure from opposing defenses in 2016, which will bring a change to her role in the pool.
“Kelly scored 73 goals and didn’t start a single game for us last year,” said King. “But she’ll face a dramatic responsibility shift this season. She’ll have to create her own opportunities this year. Our opponents understand that the offense will run through her.”
The Hoosiers aren’t concerned that Matthews will hit a lull with the added pressure in the coming season. The sophomore gained valuable experience in the offseason with the Canadian Junior National Team, which finished in fourth-place at the World University Games. Furthermore, much of the success Matthews finds in the pool doesn’t stem from her offensive impact; rather, it’s what she does on defense that makes her such a force for the 12th-ranked Hoosiers.
“The strength of Kelly’s game is that she defends, and she takes pride in her work on that end,” King said. “A lot of her offensive ability flows outward from that.”
Matthews
Karrie Kozokar will make her collegiate debut for the Hoosiers this season after redshirting the 2015 season. Having fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, Kozokar is anxious to contribute to the Hoosiers’ success on both ends of the pool.
After showing a solid work ethic in offseason and preseason training, coach King said that Kozokar is back to full strength. Now, it’s a matter of transitioning from her playing days at Mundelein High School to the highly competitive college game.
“She’ll look to get her legs under her and build confidence in the early stages of the season,” King said when asked about his plans for the redshirt freshman. “She’s improved greatly, and we’re looking forward to having her do some really good things for us.
Matthews and Kozokar will lead the Hoosier defense this Saturday, January 23, for their first game of the season against sixth-ranked Arizona State. The Hoosiers lost a hard-fought contest to the Sun Devils at last season’s ASU Invitational, but they’ll look to pick up some west coast wins in their four games against the Sun Devils this weekend.
Swimming news courtesy of Indiana Water Polo.