The 14th-ranked Hoosiers have set the stage for the Hoosier Invitational, the first home weekend of the 2017 season. They return to the home pool on a four-game winning streak with a 6-2 record, stacking five top-25 wins in their first two weekends.
The action begins on Friday evening with their first-ever meeting against Carthage College, followed by another exhibition Saturday morning with McKendree. That evening, Indiana will enter a top-25 showdown against Cal Baptist. Both Saturdaygames will stream live via BTN Plus on BTN2Go.com.
Weekend Schedule: 2017 Hoosier Invitational
Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center • Bloomington, Ind.
Friday, Feb. 24
6:00 p.m. – McKendree vs. #25 Cal Baptist
7:30 p.m. – #14 Indiana vs. Carthage (exhibition) | Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 25
10:00 a.m. – #25 Cal Baptist vs. Carthage
11:30 a.m. – #14 Indiana vs. McKendree (exhibition) | Live Stats | BTN Plus
5:30 p.m. – Carthage vs. McKendree
7:00 p.m. – #14 Indiana vs. #25 Cal Baptist | Live Stats | BTN Plus
Hoosier Notes
Last Time: Block Party at Bruno
The Hoosiers torched through their weekend slate at the Bruno Classic, starting with a pair of top-25 victories. Indiana topped #23 Marist by four goals before dominating on defense for a 10-2 win over #21 Wagner. Against the Eagles, Jessica Gaudreault and the IU defense held a shutout until the midpoint of the fourth quarter.
Joelle Nacouzi led the Hoosiers in nearly all categories with 8 goals, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Kelly Matthews tallied 7 goals, followed by Jennifer Beadle with 6 goals and 4 steals.
Back in her Element
Jessica Gaudreault has made an emphatic return to Indiana since coming back from a two-year stint with the Canadian National Team. The junior averages 10.8 saves per game along with 4 steals and 3 assists this season.
Gaudreault, a two time All-CWPA first teamer, tallied 29 saves against 14 goals allowed at the Bruno Classic.
Hot Start
Head coach Ryan Castle has begun his tenure at Indiana with gusto. The Hoosiers have only lost twice this seaon, both times against top-10 opponents, and have five top-25 wins including an 8-5 upset over #5 Hawaii. Six players, including key contributors Mollie WIlliams and Joelle Nacouzi, joined the team two weeks before the season opener.
Most notable about Castle’s Hoosiers is their diversity on the attack. Eight Hoosiers have recorded a goal this year; five have more than one assist; and 12 have steals to their credit.
By Their Lead
The Hoosiers announced a trio of brand new captains to lead the team through the 2017 campaign: junior Jessica Gaudreault, junior Kelly Matthews, and senior Bronwyn Smith.
Of Note…
• The Hoosiers have an all-time home record of 70-18-1 since their first season in 1998.
• Indiana will also play a Senior Day home game against McKendree (4/21) before hosting the 2017 CWPA Championships (5/12-14). They’ll also serve as host for the 2017 NCAA Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.
• Eight Hoosiers come to Bloomington from outside of the United States. Jessica Gaudreault, Sarah Myers, Kelly Matthews, and Joelle Nacouzi hail from Canada; Emily Powell, Mollie Williams, and assistant coach Emily Carr come from Australia; head coach Ryan Castle is from South Africa.
Hear it from the Hoosiers
Head Coach Ryan Castle
On facing their eighth ranked opponent of the year…
“We like the challenge of playing ranked teams. Cal Baptist has a few weapons we’ll have to worry about, like a solid goalkeeper and a good center. It gives us something to study and work towards, and we tend to step up against ranked opponents.”
On the team’s mental toughness…
“I’ve got seven juniors with a lot of experience and they like to win. They keep the practice going, they want to be competitive every single day. They don’t want to just come and play; they want to win.”
On getting in the home pool for live game action…
“We’re hosting the CWPA Championship here in April, so this will be our first experience playing at home. We practice here every week, but we rarely have an audience. We’re excited to have the home field advantage, and we hope it gets loud in here.”
The Players
Junior Sarah Myers
On the dynamic with everyone being from outside the state of Indiana…
“It’s cool having people from all over, including different countries. We get to learn about different places; I get made fun of for my accent quite a bit. It’s interesting having the different styles of water polo come together on our team.”
Freshman Joelle Nacouzi
On joining the Hoosiers two weeks before the season opener…
“I was really worried about not being able to mesh with the team or be behind everyone else. But everyone has been super welcoming, helpful, and kind, and I wasn’t expecting that. The transition was overwhelming for the first couple of weeks, but it’s been fun since I’ve gotten adjusted.”
News courtesy of Indiana Athletics.
