Imagine swimming across a pool, grasping a ball and trying to shoot. Through the chlorinated splashes, you are chased by several people pawing at the ball and holding you down as you attempt to propel the ball above their heads and into the net.

This is what the women’s water polo team encounters on a weekly basis, and for many, it has been a real learning experience considering that many team members have never played this sport before.

“They are starting to get the idea of playing defense and seeing the people drape all over them,” coach Corey Stanbury said.

The team will play its next game on Wednesday against Pasadena City.

Yesterday, the team played Long Beach City College, a team that ranks top in the state. However, the results were unavailable because of publication deadlines.

“I don’t really want to know what scores they have (so far),” Nelly Lopez Sierra said, “because you get more nervous.”

Although Sierra may know little about the Long Beach players, Stanbury knows more.

“They are really good; way faster than we are and way more experienced than we are,” Stanbury said.

Despite the fact that the Warriors are “badly mismatched with other teams,” Stanbury said, they are still learning and gaining experience.

“I think we are slowly learning how to play a little bit more, especially the people who are in their first season ever playing water polo,” Stanbury said.

Last week, the Warriors lost to Rio Hondo, 21- 10, and had no wins in the Mt. SAC Tournament.

At the Mt. SAC Tournament the team played and lost to Mt. SAC, 23-6, and later to L.A. Valley, 14-3.

Two games in the tournament had to be forfeited because of players that were unable to play due to illness or college-related projects.

“You have to be understanding about all that,” Brittany Decicco, who is new to the team, said.

Even though the team has had its rough phase, there are some players who have shown their talent consistently.

Kacy Turner, who Stanbury said plays well both as a goalie and in the field, is one of those players.

In the tournament last week, she scored all three goals in the game against L.A. Valley and five out of six goals in the game against Mt. SAC.

Kelly Suk, one of the only two sophomores on the team, is another player that has consistently been scoring throughout the season.

However, the young team is still struggling to establish roles for all of its players.

An issue that the team has been facing is finding a permanent goalie. The players have alternated positions; however, the coach is still deciding on whom to pick.

Stanbury tried out players for the position and Lorna Baker stood out the most.

“She did a pretty good job,” Stanbury said.

Even though the team has lost a lot of games, Turner said that they are improving.

“A lot of the girls are new to the team and we are kind of figuring each other out now,” Turner said. “We’ve definitely improved over the last couple of weeks.”

The men’s water polo team played its second conference game against Long Beach yesterday as well, however, scores are not yet available. The men’s team is to play at the Saddleback Tournament this weekend.