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Women's water polo takes conference title

The UA club women's water polo team took the Southwest Conference title last weekend by winning four games in two days.

In those games, Arizona defeated Northern Arizona twice in a two-day span, bringing home the team's third title in five seasons.

For sophomore Alexis Shubin, the victories were vindication following a 1999 season-ending loss to the Lumberjacks.

"It was great to win," Shubin said. "It's like we were redeeming ourselves following last season's loss."

After defeating Texas and NAU for the first time on Friday, Arizona found itself in the Southwest Conference semifinals. A 9-5 victory against Colorado put the team into the finals, where Arizona knocked off NAU again, 4-1.

For Schubin, the conference title seemed to ease the strain of playing for a club team. The women must raise their own money for uniforms, travel, and other expenses.

"It's tough," she said. "Half the people on campus don't even know what water polo is. Winning makes it all worth it. There's a lot of heart on our team."

The victories further prolonged the career of senior standout Jennifer Strelow.

Strelow, Shubin, and goaltender Sarah Dismukes were named first team All-Southwest Conference following the tournament.

"We were playing for Jennifer out there," Schubin said. "We didn't want it to be her last game."

The conference championship puts the team into the national playoffs, which will be held at the UA Student Recreation Center in three weeks.

The tournament will pit the women's water polo team against Michigan and Washington, among others.

"We'll do well," Schubin said. "We played at the Division III level last season, so we're confident that we can achieve at the club level."