April 27, 2017

Dear Cal Polo Family, Friends, and Fans:
 
The end is very near! Today, we all completed our final day of classes for the spring semester. For the seniors, that was our last week of instruction at Berkeley ever! Well actually, our last day of classes for the semester is technically tomorrow, but today we are on the road heading south to Los Angeles for the MPSF Tournament. Most of our professors were very understanding and allowed us to take finals early or have tests proctored on the road. It has been a very stressful time but this weekend is the time for us to show off how hard have all been working this season!
 
Last weekend was one of our first bye weeks in a really long time. We made good use of this time catching up on rest, getting into the training room, and being proactive with our studies. Of course, we had to have a little fun. After practice Saturday, a good majority of the team dressed up in their favorite blue and gold clothing and headed up to memorial stadium for Cal Day! On your mark, get set, Go Bears! For those of you who don't know, Cal Day is a designated day every spring where prospective and current students celebrate everything Cal has to offer. People who have never been to Berkeley are introduced to the unique campus community. There is something for everyone. You can watch the dance crew move and groove, hear the boom of the Cal band, hug a robot and get some hands-on science experience, or watch the Spring Football game. Carla and I celebrated with student-athletes from both the volleyball and basketball team! Grace Morgan and Rachael Lewin donned their spirited Cal jerseys and headed to the Spring Football game. The whole team had to pose for pictures with our team mascot, Duncan - Coach Cor's dog!



On Sunday, we all split up to adventure or do what we do best - shop til' we drop. Anna Illes, Stephanie Mutafyan, and myself Ubered to San Francisco and did some dress shopping for some events coming up. Next week is the annual Oskis, the Cal student-athlete version of the Oscars. Roughly 700 of us dress to the nines and get together for dinner and a show. The evening consists of a combination of of song and dance performances by Cal athletes as well as awards like "Newcomer of the Year" and the coveted "Golden Couple" (lol!). Dora Antal and Lolo Silver hit the outlets to get some discount shopping done. Meanwhile, Gen Weed and Mia Salvini did some exploring around the coast of Half Moon Bay, just an hour away for Berkeley.


After our much needed day off, we were back in the pool rejuvenated and ready to go on Monday. We spent this week reviewing film and fine-tuning plays for a highly anticipated weekend of water polo. This weekend we play in the MPSF Tournament in hopes of securing a spot at the NCAA Tournament. It will be a tough weekend, but we're ready. We are all very excited to play and have our first game tomorrow versus Arizona State. Wish us luck.


Thanks for tuning in and as always, GO BEARS!


April 20, 2017

Dear Cal Polo Family, Friends, and Fans:
 
It's been awhile! Last Saturday was the seniors' last home game ever as Golden Bear athletes. How could four years go by so incredibly fast? All of the seniors agree the time has absolutely flown by but it really has been four memorable years. Our parents placed a beautiful lei over our heads on Saturday, then poof, our time at the Spieker Pool was up. A special thank you to Mrs. Lewin and Mrs. Tagg for coordinating such a memorable Senior Send-off and Luncheon. Unfortunately, we didn't get the win against SC. However, we all know that this happened to make us all realize that time is short, and so, we will be very HUNGRY Bears for our first MPSF game versus ASU next week at UCLA.
 
Our goalie, Madeline Trabucco, had an exceptional game and was just announced as the Muscle Milk Student -Athlete of the Week. This is a coveted award as the athlete is selected for his or her performance for the week amongst all the other athletes at Berkeley.  Mad (my nickname for her since we were freshman) held our opponent to the least amount of goals that they have scored all season.



Madeline and I have come a long way since we were freshmen. Madeline, a Santa Barbara native, was my first roommate. I had competed against her for years in Junior Olympics and high school, then suddenly we're not only teammates but roommates! I recall how stressed I was to leave my big queen bed and slum it in a twin. I'm 6'1" so this was extremely concerning to me.  Little did I know that going to sleep was going to be the least of my concerns in college. You just love your bed, twin or queen! One of my fondest memories of rooming with Madeline our freshman year was cuddling up in bed and watching TLC with our floormates. Two of our guilty pleasures were "My 500 Pound Life" and "Toddlers & Tiaras. Trash TV is one of our favorite pastimes. Mr. and Mrs. Trabucco stockpiled Madeline with plenty of snacks, and I heavily indulged.

Stephanie Mutafyan has been my roommate for the past 3 years.  
 


Stephanie and I coincidentally went on many of the same recruiting trips before both choosing Cal.  We distinctly remember going to one of the L.A. schools and having the coach tell us that we would both want to transfer from Berkeley. After four years, we can happily say that both of us have never regretted our decision to come to the No. 1 public university in the world.  We are both from Southern California, but the experience that we shared up north has definitely enriched us into the people we are today.


Today, Gen Weed is celebrating her 22^nd birthday! I still recall 18-year-old Gen getting settled in the dorms with her twin sister, Erica. I had just met Gen so I didn't know if her or her identical twin was going to be my future teammate. Now, Gen is my senior co-captain, and I couldn't imagine a practice without her. I also can definitely tell her and her twin apart! We've come a long way.
 
Madeline Trabucco will graduate soon with a degree in English and plans on coaching while obtaining her teaching credential. Stephanie Mutafyan will graduate with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (focus on Health and Illness) and is currently working on her thesis. Gen Weed will graduate with a degree in Integrative Biology with a focus in Human Biology and Health Sciences and is contemplating a position in medical research and may pursue medical school.  "Paging Dr. Weed?"  


As for myself, I will graduate with a degree in Media Studies. I have one extra semester and after that I will most likely pursue my dream of playing professional water polo abroad. After water polo, I will pursue a career in corporate media and communications. I hope to stay in San Francisco or the Bay Area!







For Easter, Mrs. Morgan was nice enough to host half the team at the Team Water Polo House for brunch. Grace and her sister, Kelly, prepared pancakes and there was quite a spread! Everyone posed for pictures in their bunny ears and had a lovely time.
 
An alumni once told me that at Cal one earns everything! The end product that you become after four years at Berkeley is quite different a person than the end product one becomes at any other school. After four years of being a Bear, I can say that is true. Our team has earned everything. It intends to earn more, and we wouldn't want it any other way.  

Until next time and as always GO BEARS!


April 6, 2017

Dear Cal Polo Family, Friends, and Fans:
 
Welcome back! This past week has truly flown by as we prepare to drive down to play San Jose State this weekend. But first, let us recap the past week! Last weekend, the energy our fans brought to Spieker Aquatics Complex was encouraging to say the least. The Cal Band was playing "Fight for California" and our Cal Dance team made an appearance to cheer us on! Unfortunately, we couldn't sync up to put together a competitive four-quarter game like we were hoping. This whole week of practice has been dedicated to making all the changes necessary to be successful this weekend and late on in our championship season.
 
On Saturday, the Taggs were nice enough to host us at their lovely home in Orinda. Mrs. Tagg and Mrs. Lewin never disappoint in feeding our whole Golden Bear squad. Cal parents who were in town for the weekend were also in attendance. The food was delicious, as always! The evening gave us the opportunity to relax, and kick back with our favorite people, outside of the pool.




During the week the coaching staff assigned us partners on the team. Our assignment was to write down three reasons we are grateful for our designated teammate. The task was pretty easy due to the fact we are all obsessed with each other! At the Taggs, we all read one or two reasons everyone was appreciated aloud. The process was simple, but heartfelt. It was so nice to hear the reasons we are appreciated. Every single person on this team is so valued in their own unique way.

The rest of the evening was filled with yummy cupcakes and competitive ping pong. I'm not sure how Chris Lee and Claire McDowell matched up against Lolo Silver and Dora Antal, but there will most likely be a rematch soon.


Monday was our day off from water polo after the weekend. The whole team piled up in separate cars and headed to the Boys and Girls Club in West Oakland. The mission of this national service is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Collegiate athletes from neighboring communities volunteer at the club from time to time, but for many of us this was our first time going. The kids welcomed us with open arms and involved us in their game of dodge ball right away! The game was competitive and there were multiple team huddles. By the end of the day we really bonded with the girls and promised to come back on future Mondays!






The Bears are on the road this weekend for our last away game. We face San Jose State at 1 p.m. on Saturday at West Valley College. My time here at Berkeley has truly flown by. I am definitely trying to cherish every moment left as a Golden Bear!
 
Until next time and as always, GO BEARS!


Mar. 31, 2017

Dear Cal Polo Family, Friends, and Fans:
 
Welcome back to another installment of Emily's Epic! Last weekend was our final Junior Day for young recruited polo players. This time it was particularly fun because we all had some free time to show the high school juniors around our beautiful campus here at Berkeley. This gave the recruits an opportunity to get a feel of the campus and get to know our team even better. We divided the girls up and took them to Unit 3 (residence hall), Memorial Stadium, and Sather Tower. The whole squad met back up at the annual St. Mary's vs. Cal rugby game at Witter Field. The game was filled to the brim with Cal fans all rooting for the Golden Bears, who won the national championship last year. Unfortunately, we were not victorious but we WERE able to snag a pic with everyone's favorite mascot, Oski the Bear. Altogether, the current and future Cal Water Polo gang had an entertaining day.

Happy Spring Break! Without classes to worry about, we have had a busy week to focus solely on water polo. It's a relief to finally have five days to ourselves without midterms and papers. We've been working hard in the pool in preparation for our huge game this weekend against Stanford.
 
The break also gives us the opportunity for a solid amount of team bonding, seeing as we are one of the few teams staying in Berkeley. After practice on Wednesday, Sofia Rivas, Rachael Lewin, and myself headed to Safeway. We had to purchase the necessities for our team BBQ. We piled up the cart with burgers, hot dogs, chips, and (of course) dip. Sofia was nice enough to host all of us at the Metropolitan Apartment Complex. The Met has a rooftop patio and overlooks the Bay Area. We spent the afternoon in our swimsuits - eating, relaxing, and bathing under the sun. Rachael volunteered to do the grilling and was nominated our master chef!



On Thursday morning, we received a mysterious text message from the coaching staff to bring running shoes and workout clothes after the day's training. After a hard but abbreviated workout we learned we would be competing in a Cal Polo scavenger hunt. We were divided into four separate teams to run through campus. The teams were instructed to take group pictures with historic landmarks throughout Berkeley. Every group was given a team name based off of Cal Water Polo alumni! The winners were Colette Glinkowski's team. Colette was a freshman when Heather Petri played from 97-00. She was an incredible shooter and an All American. Team Glinkowski completed the challenge in 29 minutes! Team VonHartitzsch followed with 33 minutes. Alisa VonHartitzsch holds several all-time records and was a first team All American. Team Johnson came after VonHartitzsch and was named after Courtney Johnson. Johnson was a 2000 Olympian and on the first D1 collegiate team at Cal! Team Lorenz came in last and was named after Ericka Lorenz, a 2000 & 2004 Olympian. She was one of the best shooters in the world and sat out her freshman season to play in the Olympics. The Cal Polo family has an impressive list of members!

The team celebrated Sarah Siepker's birthday after the scavenger Hunt with a dinner at Jupiter! Coach Cor's dog Duncan was in attendance, and everyone on the team took their turns holding the three month old puppy (Awww!).

Cal Water Polo is extremely excited for the battle of the bay this weekend!

The Bears will be back home this Sunday to take on Stanford at 4 p.m. at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Hope to see each and every one of you this weekend!
 
Until next time and as always, GO BEARS!


Mar. 23, 2017

Dear Cal Polo Family, Friends, and Fans:
 
Welcome back to another installment of Emily's Epic! Although we prepared extensively for our game vs. UCLA, we were not able to sync up and perform at the highest level that we know we are capable of playing. We were hindered by some injuries throughout the week, but overall, we came together as a team and gave our best effort. We believe, that come April and May, we will all be ready.
 
Daily Hartmeier and her family were gracious enough to host us after our game this past weekend. The team took advantage of the down time by watching movies, catching up with family, and (of course) eating the food provided at their beautiful home. The Cal cupcakes were a big hit!

The highlights of our time at the Hartmeiers were definitely the hidden tree house, baby chickens (awwww!), and gorgeous view of the pool.

This year, we have made an effort as a team to do a lot of team bonding activities. Being competitive is one trait we all have in common! Sophomore Grace Morgan had the brilliant idea of the team playing a game of water gun assassin throughout the month. For those of you who have never played, assassin consists of every person on the team being assigned a target. This target will be the person the individual has to "take out" by squirting them with a water gun. After taking out your target, you get reassigned theirs in return. Being the competitors we are, there were stakeouts in between classes and targets out running their assassins on campus. Volunteer assistant coach Heather Petri assigned safety items to the team every morning. Those who were brave enough to wear the items would be immune from getting shot that day. The items included onesies, tutus, and superhero costumes. Freshman Claire McDowell went all out and embraced the bizarre outfitting to stay safe!

Ironically, Kristina Garcia won the game by not killing anyone. This was only after finalists Carla Carrega and Stephanie Mutafyan shot each other simultaneously. This was a fun way to interact with each other as a team outside the water.

"The only thing that comes easy in life is hard work." This quote was coined by none other than head coach Coralie Simmons. Every day, for the past week, one person from the team brings in their favorite quote. This quote is not only special to them, but relates to our journey throughout the season.
 
Senior captain Gen Weed's quote was, "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." To Gen, this quote describes our team because we have a lot of talent and good players, but so does every team at this level. The key to making our team successful is teamwork and intelligence. Together we are better than we could be as individuals because we can all help each other out. Intelligence will help keep us all on the same page and one step ahead of our opponents. Sophomore Sarah Siepker's quote was, "We can only control what is in our boat." To her this means that we only have the power to control what we do and not what other teams do. Most importantly, during a game, practice, or warm-up, we focus solely on what we as a team can do in the moment to make us better. We hope by the end of the month we will pick one quote to be on the back of our shirts at MPSF! This quote will truly represent our 2017 team.



Thank you to everyone who was in the stands this past weekend and for your continued support. The Bears will be back home Saturday to take on No. 6 Arizona State at 1 p.m. at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Hope to see each and every one of you this weekend!
 
Until next time and as always, GO BEARS!


Mar. 9, 2017

Dear Cal Polo family, friends, and fans:
 
Welcome back! This past weekend the Bears did not compete in any games but we did have an intrasquad scrimmage. Before our highly anticipated day off on Sunday, we all came together Saturday morning to finish out the week of practice. What better way to do this with some Bear vs. Bear competition! This time the stakes of the game were raised. We were playing for Pride. Although we always play for the intangible pride, this time I am referring to the Pride trophy pictured below. Juniors Anna Illes and Kindred Paul were selected to draw teams before the game. The teams were dead even and the game went into overtime, ending in a shootout. Nusi's team was ultimately victorious but everyone was in good spirits because Coach Cor supplied some well deserved donuts after practice.



On Monday and Tuesday, our squad hosted the Chinese Women's National Team at Spieker. We played five quarters on Monday, and participated in a controlled scrimmage on Tuesday against these international players. This gave the whole team an opportunity to test our game shape, practice our 6x5/ 5x6, and make swift adjustments based on our opponents. Playing against Olympians definitely increased the level of physicality during the game. We all had to come together as a team to secure the win on Monday. Despite the language barrier, the game of water polo is definitely universal. After the game we exchanged handshakes and I learned how to say thank you in Chinese! Xièxiè!



Last week, the coaching staff gave us a unique assignment. We were all asked to write a letter to someone who was previously on the Cal Women's Water Polo team and had our specific number. In the letter, we would let them know what being part of the team meant to us. I am lucky #7 and chose to write my letter to Taylor Dodson, a Laguna Beach native. I remember vividly Taylor showing me around the beautiful Berkeley campus on my junior day. Little did I know the impact this campus and this team would have on my life. Being on this team means the world and has set us all up for success. Competitiveness, resilience, and leadership are qualities that can't be taught. Cal Water Polo truly is a Cal Family. I was so happy to share my number and my journey with someone like Taylor. Taylor is giving back to the community as a graduate assistant coach for Wagner Women's Water Polo. As graduation approaches, I am coming to the realization I am at the tail end of my collegiate water polo career. With roughly 10 weeks of season left, I truly need to enjoy this crazy ride!





We will be competing this Saturday (March 11th) vs. Harvard at Spieker Aquatics Complex. This is our first televised match of the season. We're excited to be back at home and hope to see you all in the stands!
 
Until next time and as always, GO BEARS!


Mar. 2, 2017

Dear Cal Polo family, friends, and fans:
 
Welcome back to another week of Emily's Epic! The Bears traveled down to Southern California last weekend to compete at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational at UC Irvine. This was a great opportunity to see how we match up against the teams we will ultimately face in MPSF and NCAA competition. We placed an overall fourth in the tournament but definitely grew as a team. The energy and passion we all have for the game was palpable throughout the weekend, both in the pool and on the bench. No matter the amount of playing time, we all contribute something unique and special to this 2017 team.



The amount of support we received when we got to Irvine was amazing. On Saturday, The Morgans were nice enough to host our huge Cal family, parents included. From enjoying S'mores by the fire (Carla's first time!), to playing Wii dance against Gen's little brother, Walter, the whole night was a fun change of pace. We all got time to catch up with our family as well as do some team bonding. Heather Petri, or as we call her Petie, created a delicious masterpiece of a S'more, topped with Reese's and rice crispy treats, and this was after the mouthwatering taco bar! Needless to say we are so spoiled by the parents every weekend we travel.




After we concluded our games on Sunday, we were so tired! Instead of returning to the hotel (before our late flight back to Berkeley), the Morgans so graciously hosted us for the second time!  We napped, snacked, jacuzzi'd, and studied. While some of us were focusing on midterms and papers coming up, others took a dip in the jacuzzi to relax after the hard work put in over the weekend.



This week, you will find all of us with our heads in a book or problem set, most likely studying at one of the lovely libraries we have here on campus. If we are going to suffer through midterms, at least we get to do so at the newly constructed Moffitt Library, or one of the academic study centers. As student-athletes we are provided with helpful resources to aid us in our studies during these difficult times. We receive free tutoring, we have helpful academic advisors at our disposal, and we also get priority enrollment in courses. The latter comes in handy when we are planning around our time in the pool and the weight room.


The Bears have a bye this week and we will return to the pool March 11 against No. 19 Harvard at Spieker Aquatics Complex. This match will be our first televised game of the season which is always exciting! Until then we will continue to work hard in the classroom and on the pool deck.
 
Until next time and as always, GO BEARS!


Feb. 23, 2017

Dear Cal Polo family, friends, and fans:
 
Welcome back to another week of Emily's Epic and a happy late Valentine's Day to you all! Last Tuesday, everyone really got into the holiday spirit when we were divided up into three teams for a Valentine's Day Competition. There were a variety of different events to test our accuracy, leg strength, speed, and even song knowledge! We all put on our new pink caps and started to strategize who would compete in which event. It's always fun to take a break from the grind and cheer our teammates on. We ended the practice with some 5-on-5 scrimmaging to determine the winner. Overall, a very fun practice before going into our games this past weekend.



On Saturday, we hosted a tournament with an array of teams at Legends Aquatics Center. The team got some solid wins against both New York Athletic Club (in an exhibition game) and Santa Clara. Although it was a little rainy the entire weekend here in Northern California, we had a great showing of people come to support us. Our fans once again came from all over the place to show their love and support for the Golden Bears. Having a home tournament gave us the opportunity to show off our pool and school to some perspective water polo juniors. The recruiting process is very stressful and all of us hoped to answer any questions young water polo players may have about what it means to be a Bear! 

When the games concluded Saturday, the whole team rushed back to their respective houses to get ready for our team bonding event. It is an annual Cal Water Polo tradition to have a costume party sometime in the season. This usually takes place after one of our home games in February. We all pick a partner and dress as a famous couple or dynamic duo.





This time around, the costumes were better than ever! I'm not sure how freshmen Lauren Barrett and Emma Wright will top their costume from this year! They spray-painted their whole bodies to look like army figurines. Sophomores Sofia Rivas and Maddie Tagg dressed as Napoleon and Pedro from the 2004 comedy, Napoleon Dynamite, and I think they nailed it!
 
Today, we are flying down to Southern California to compete in the UCI Invitational. Unfortunately, school does not stop for major tournaments. Many of us will be taking some midterms in the sky with a proctor. Everyone on the team takes a lot of pride in their studies and as complete STUDENT-athletes we have to be flexible.



This whole weekend will be an exciting one for the Bears. We will be matched up with all of the top-ranked teams in NCAA. We have all been planning for the tournament since the beginning of the month and are anticipating the high level of competition throughout the weekend. For all of you Southern California fans – we'd love to see you guys at the games starting this Friday at UCI!

We hope to see you all in the stands! Until next time and as always, GO BEARS!


Feb. 9, 2017

Dear Cal Polo family, friends, and fans:

First off, I wanted to take the time to thank you for all your support this past weekend at the Stanford Invitational. Cal Women's Water Polo has the most amazing parents, hands down! Our supporters came from as close as Northern and Southern California and as far as Miami, Florida. We love our Cal family!

Friday night, your Golden Bears concluded the week of practice and ran through some adjustments to our five-man defense. The parents provided a great meal for us - pasta and salad with brussels sprouts, which are my all-time favorite vegetable! We ate and watched film on the opponents we would meet throughout the weekend. This dinner and our food throughout the tournament was spearheaded by Mrs. Lewin and Mrs. Tagg. These two ladies always go out of their way and make sure we have plenty of fuel for competition and for that, my belly is truly grateful!

We packed up our gear into our new backpacks and departed from Berkeley shortly after. The team drove across the bay to Cardinal territory in team mini-vans. Coach Cor, Chris Lee, Ann Kaslin (our beloved trainer), and my co-captain Gen Weed were at the helm. This hour-long drive gave us the opportunity to blast the music of our choice and get pumped for the weekend ahead.

We prepared extensively for the weekend and the competition was highly anticipated. We were victorious in our games against UC Davis, Michigan and San Jose State but fell short to Stanford in the final. Overall, we really grew closer throughout the tournament. We all believe our communication and synchronicity improves in every single game we play. Of course, we would love to have a perfect season leading up to the NCAA Tournament. However, losses teach us a lot about some of the tactical improvements we can focus in on and make us that much stronger as a team. These setbacks are what help us learn and grow.

Throughout the year we have started a lot of new traditions with our new coach. One of them being the Golden Bear Award! This award is represented by a Cal Water Polo snapback (pictured below). After every game (that we are triumphant), the hat is presented to the player that stood out in the eyes of the previous beholder. This can be in the form of a great shot block, outstanding drive defense, or putting away a major goal. So far this season the award has gone out to Rachael Lewin, Lauren Silver, Emma Wright, Madeline Trabucco, Stephanie Mutafyan, Dora Antal, and myself. Getting recognition for your hard work by your teammates always feels good. We hope to make this a long-standing Cal Water Polo tradition!


This week we are working hard in both school and the pool. Midterms are right around the corner and so is our first conference game! We are looking forward to another great weekend of water polo as we travel down to Bakersfield.

That's it for this week. Thanks again for tuning in! See you next week and GO BEARS!


Feb. 2, 2017

Dear Cal Polo family, friends, and fans,

Your Bears have been busy in Berkeley! Last weekend we came away with three wins at home in the Speedo Cup Invitational. This tournament was held at our brand new Legends Aquatics Center. It was pretty special to host the tournament and hear our fans cheering for us at our new pool.

After the tournament, everyone split off and had a fun-filled Saturday night and Sunday! The team definitely took advantage of all the sights and activities the Bay Area has to offer. Some of the freshmen found themselves exploring San Francisco. Kristina Garcia, Daily Hartmeier, and Mia Salvini spontaneously hopped on BART and got off on Powell Street (or, as I like to call it, the mall stop). The trio looked around the Ferry Building and snacked on all the scrumptious foods sold in the area. After that, they Ubered (because why would we walk on our day off!?) to Ghiradelli Square and later Fisherman's Wharf. They ended the trip embracing their inner child and rode the carousal at Pier 39 with no shame!

The Cal Women's Water Polo team had a pair of birthdays this past weekend with sophomore Sofia Rivas turning 20 and junior Lauren Silver turning 21. Sofia Rivas' parents flew in for the weekend from Miami to celebrate her birthday. After a long weekend of games, they took her roommates and some close friends to dinner in the city. The restaurant they held the celebration, Fogo de Chão, is an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse (YUMM!) in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Lauren Barrett, Rachael Lewin, Madeline Trabucco, Gen Weed, and myself spent Saturday night in Lafayette. All of us are members of Athletes in Action or AIA, a Christian student-athlete run group here on campus. The group held an annual Women's Retreat at a four-story home in the East Bay. The retreat consisted of relaxation and reflection and gave us a chance to get to know some of the other student-athletes on campus a little better. On Sunday morning, we awoke bright and early to see the sunrise and eat breakfast. Gen Weed was an expert chocolate chip pancake-maker!

 

On Tuesday, Coach Cor and all your seniors left practice a little early to get ready for the annual Big C Society Senior Dinner. The Big C Society is one of the oldest organizations here at Cal (founded in 1908 with over 6,000 members). Their mission is to advance and support the athletic programs and prepare athletes for careers after graduation from Cal, for which we are truly grateful. Crazy to think that the four of us our actually seniors and our time at Berkeley will soon come to a close ):

This coming weekend is a very exciting and important one for the Bears. We will be traveling across the bay to Stanford to compete in the Stanford Invitational. The team has been anticipating the high level of competition to come and we have been preparing throughout this week. For all of you Northern California fans – we'd love to see you all at the games on Saturday and Sunday!

That's all for now. Hope to see you at Stanford, and GO BEARS!


Jan. 26, 2017

Dear Cal Polo family, friends, and fans:
 
Welcome back! Your Golden Bears have been quite busy with the start of the semester and season. The first week of school at most colleges is nicknamed "Syllabus Week." This is where students receive their syllabi for the semester and overview the course material during the first few classes. But at UC Berkeley, it's more like, talk about the expectations for the first 15 minutes of class and dive right in. Most of the girls on the team are back to the grind of piles of reading and problem sets. Thank goodness we have such great tutors to help us out with all our classes. At the No. 1 public university in the world, there are a plethora of interesting courses to take, and sometimes we are even lucky enough to be in these classes together!



Kindred Paul, Gen Weed and I all managed to get in to the coveted Wealth and Poverty class taught by Robert Reich (former Secretary of Labor and political commentator). While both of these qualifications make the class very stimulating, the most entertaining tidbit of information we received was that the professor not only dated Hillary Clinton, but introduced Hillary and Bill Clinton when they attended Yale Law together! The course is geared toward analysis of the diverging distribution of earnings, wealth, and opportunity in the United States. This class is so thought-provoking in the polarized political climate of today. Every class there are debates arguing both political viewpoint, and there is A LOT of reading. 

Lauren Barrett, Sarah Siepker, Catie Wallace, and Emma Wright are taking an English course called "Children's Literature." Every class they read and analyze children's books such as Peter Pan, Harry Potter, and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Their quest throughout the semester is to analyze major generic, political, aesthetic, and philosophical questions children's literature poses. I'm surprised Grace Morgan isn't in the class since she is our diehard Harry Potter fan (pretty sure she has a wand).

One of the best things that comes with the start of season is seeing all of our friends and family at our games. Their support means the world to us and we don't mind the constant stream of free food that we are spoiled with at tournaments!



 
We all can't wait to see you again this weekend, in our first home tournament! We have been competing pretty hard at practice but we're ready to showcase our improvement throughout the week in our upcoming games. On Friday, we play Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m. at Spieker, and on Saturday we play Long Beach State and UC Davis in the Speedo Cup at Legends.

That's all for now. Hope to see you guys next week, and GO BEARS!
 

Jan. 19, 2017

Hello Cal Water Polo family, friends, and fans!

My name is Emily Loughlin and I am one of your four seniors on the Golden Bear squad this year. Typically, one of the seniors adopts the WWP blog for the course of the season and this gives all our fans the inside scoop on the happenings of the team in and out of the pool. Every senior in the past usually chooses a catchy title, last year it was "Pippa's Perspective" and the year before that, "Vic's View." After careful contemplation (and a little brainstorming help from Sarah Siepker) I present to you "Emily's Epic!"

Fitting - because we know this will be an epic 2017 season and journey. I hope you enjoy!

Of course, we all enjoyed some much-needed time off for the holidays after working hard in the fall. Winter break was relaxing, but as soon as the new year rolled around, it was back to work for your Golden Bears. On January 2^nd, we returned to Berkeley for what (I'm kind of happy to say) was my last and final Hell Month. Although it seems scary, this is just the designated term the team uses for the two-plus weeks we have before semester starts. Since the dorms were closed until the 12^th, all the freshman were divvied up amongst the rest of the team. This gave the sophomores, juniors, and seniors an opportunity to bond with the 10 freshmen as well as gave the freshmen a look into what life after the dorms is like. Cooking your own food is nice for the freshmen but it was cozy to say the least at the Cal Women's Water Polo house on Ellsworth St. We dedicate most of Hell Month to a whole lot of practice but our efforts are rewarded with some training table (food at the end of practice, yummmm) and new team gear (or as we like to call it: 2^nd Christmas).



We showed off our new outfits on Picture Day, where we get all dolled up in-between practices for our yearly photoshoot. Not only do we take headshots, but everyone looks forward to the class photos. The junior class photo this year was pretty great, featuring our new beanies, and mean mugs of course!



The team traveled down to West Valley College in Saratoga last weekend and we finally got to play against someone other than ourselves. Our matchups were against San Jose State and University of the Pacific. The whole team enjoyed being cheered on by our family and friends. We were victorious in both games on Sunday but we hope to build on our progress throughout the season. All of us are very excited for our exhibition match against Stanford this Saturday. This scrimmage begins at 8 a.m. Come out and support us at the awesome new Legends Aquatics Center.



That's if for now, I'll see you next week and GO BEARS!