The Varsity

The women’s waterpolo team was handed a bad defeat last Wednesday with a 10-4 loss against the number one team in the league, the McMaster Marauders.

The rest and relaxation of the Christmas break took a hard toll on U of T early in the game, but it did not have the same affect on Mac as they scored the first three goals in the first quarter.

“The exhibition tournament during the break kept us fit and ready for this game,” said Marauder Laura Hendrie, second-year veteran and the fifth leading scorer in the league.

Although U of T got a good slap in the face after the third goal was scored, starting centre Kirstin Saginowski, pumped in a strong goal from two metres after Mac’s Christina Neumann was kicked out.

But alas, within eight seconds left in the first quarter, Mac’s Nady Trimble made back the goal with a strong shot from six metres.

“Although we were not used to U of T’s zone defense, we managed to pump in a few nice goals,” Hendrie said.

In this game the Blues experimented with a 2-3 drop defense, where the top two players of the umbrella alternated dropping back towards the centre to help the centre defense.

“Our defense was strong, especially with our new 2-3 drop,” said Giselle Figuredo, Toronto’s former team captain. “But this game was just to work on strategy and the outcome was not important.”

Although the Blues were generously defeated, their results thus far have put Toronto into second place in the league. This shows the rest of the province that the Blues will no longer be pushed around, as they have been in the past.