Purdue News 
Purdue News February 20, 1998
More women who know how to play the game, and who want to play at the college level, are coming to Purdue. In the past, most women who joined the team had never played the sport before.
"As little as three years ago, high school water polo teams didn't even exist," said team captain Renata Garlanger, a sophomore in construction engineering management from Chicago , "Several of our new team members played organized water polo while they were in high school, which is great for us."
The game is a mix of soccer and swimming and is very popular on both the East and West coasts. Like soccer, each team attempts to score goals past the other team's goalie. Like swimming, players are in the water and cannot touch the bottom of the pool. Garlanger said it is very competitive and demands physical fitness.
"It takes a lot of strength and endurance to be able to survive out there for all four quarters. If you are not in shape, you will die out there," she said.
Sarah Moss, a senior majoring in child development from Corydon, Ind., said she enjoys how aggressive the game is.
"The competition and aggression draws women to this sport," she said. "It gives us a chance to get some stress out, plus it's a lot more fun for me than doing aerobics or walking on the treadmill."
Purdue's team is a club sport, which means the players are not on athletic scholarship, are not funded through the university's athletic department and pay most of their own expenses.
Last year, the team placed sixth out of seven teams in the Big Ten. This was the best showing in the history of the 4-year-old squad, and Garlanger said she hopes the experienced newcomers and the university's commitment to a new aquatics center both will help bring the team out of the bottom of the standings.
The aquatics center will replace Purdue's crumbling pools in the Recreational Gymnasium and Lambert Fieldhouse with a new facility that would double Purdue's pool space. Fund-raising for the project is under way.
The facility will be used by varsity swimmers and divers, as well as for club sports, recreational and educational purposes. A movable bulkhead will allow the 50-meter pool to be used for multiple activities at the same time.
Moss said that even though a number of organizations will be competing for time in the pool, members of the water polo team are excited because they will be able to practice in a larger pool.
"Our pool is so small that when we travel to bigger pools, we don't know how to use the space," she said. "At the moment, we practice in a pool that is only five lanes wide and is shallow on one end. The pools we compete in are eight lanes wide and deep all the way across. This will be a great advantage for us."
CONTACTS: Garlanger, (765) 495-5332 or Moss, (765) 743-0300.
Compiled by J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail, mike_willis@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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