Wahine seniors leave solid water polo foundation

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Pay no attention to the floating, bubble-wrapped goalie at the far end of the pool: The University of Hawai'i water polo team is dead serious about the final weekend of the regular season.

"We know what we have to do," says Sarah Shepard as she adjusts the packing-tape straps on her ultra-buoyant outfit. "We're going to be really up for this. We want to be ready for the MPSF championships."

The Wahine (18-7, 2-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) play Pacific (6-17, 0-9) tonight at 6 at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. They'll be back in the pool tomorrow to play San Diego State at 6 p.m.

Tomorrow will be a historic Senior Night for the program as seven players, including the last five remaining members of the Wahine's inaugural water polo team, take the traditional senior float.

Bubble wrap. Float. Get it?

Shepard, Mandy Crawford, Eko Lapp, Amy Morrow, and Andy Nishioka were all freshmen when UH introduced water polo in 1988. The other two departing Wahine are Rebecca Angus, who transferred from Wolkongong University in Australia as a sophomore, and Christi Bardecki, who earned a degree in sociology in just three years, and will forgo her final year of eligibility to enter a special graduate program .

"It's horrendous, but at the same time it's really exciting," says head coach Shari Smart. "This is our first set of four-year graduates. It's going to be a very historical and very emotional night."

But back to "horrendous."

"We're losing a huge core of experience," Smart says. "This group has provided a lot of leadership and stability that I think we've sometimes taken for granted."

Indeed, the departing players have accounted for 138 of the team's 270 goals so far this season. More importantly, their love of the game — and each other — has helped a team, carrying 15 freshmen, to stay focused and cohesive.

"They've really set the tone for how we work as a team," says junior goalie Christa Tackaberry. "We have a lot of fun together, but we also work really hard to be successful."

Success has been there from the very beginning. The Wahine have spent all four years of their existence ranked in the top 10 nationally. They have a cumulative record of 91-50, 15-20 in the MPSF, a league that dominates the sport.

"We were a brand-new program with no real history when they started," says Smart. "It's been great to watch them grow and mature."

Nishioka, a three-year Academic All-American, leads the Wahine offense from the top center driver position and has been a team captain for two seasons. The 'Ewa Beach native has 18 goals and 13 assists this season.

Eko is the designated defensive stopper. She has 88 steals this season, more than twice as many as the next Wahine. She's so disruptive in the hole, in fact, that opposing teams have had to devise strategies to minimize her impact on defense.

"She's the first truly dominant defensive player we've had," Smart says. "I wish I had red-shirted her."

Morrow and Crawford share time at driver. Smart calls Morrow the team's emotional leader, a "cheerful, enthusiastic player" that keeps teammates on their toes.

Crawford is more reserved. As Smart says, "She's very stable and very consistent. She tends not to stand out."

Except, of course, when she sings the National Anthem at the start of each match.

Shepard has only played three matches this year, but Smart says her contributions in practice are invaluable. Shepard is also a member of the UH diving team.

"Divers do some crazy stuff," Smart says. "And she has that mentality."

Angus provides stability and "a really brutal, hard shot" off the bench, Smart says. She has 28 goals with a .500 attack percentage this season.

Bardecki's loss will be especially hard to take. In her first year with the team, Bardecki, a member of the Canadian Junior National Team, established herself as Hawai'i's top offensive threat. She has a team-high 40 goals off a .556 attack percentage with 24 assists and 24 steals.

"When we started out together, we really didn't know what to expect," says Nishioka. "But we worked through it and it was great to be able to experience everything together."

• Notes: Smart says the recently resolved UHPA strike hurt the program's recruiting efforts. "Other schools used it against us," she said. "If a recruit was sitting on the fence, they heard all about it." Smart says UH has lost at least three of its top recruiting targets so far. The spring signing period began April 11.