By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
Sun Devil women's water polo vs. Shanghai Sports Institute
Where: Mona Plummer Aquatic Center, Tempe
When: Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m., 3 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m., noon.
Admission: Free
TEMPE, Ariz. -- When Sun Devils women's water polo coach Todd Clapper recruited Chinese Olympian Ao Gao five seasons ago, he knew she could help the program with her experience and her ability. He had no idea she'd also play the role of schedule maker.
The Sun Devils will host the Shanghai Sports Institute's water polo club in a five-game exhibition series at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe, Ariz., beginning Friday, at 6 p.m. The teams will also play two games each on Saturday (11 a.m., 3 p.m.) and Sunday (9 a.m., noon).
Ao's relationship with Shanghai's coach, Shenghua Pan, was critical in making the series happen. Shenghua was the Chinese National Team's assistant coach at the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Olympics. Ao was a member of both of those teams and calls Shenghua "dad" because he was a mentor to her while she was training.
"I grew up in single-parent family where my mom raised me," said Ao, a redshirt senior from Beijing. "He is like a role model for me and we always talk to each other, even though I am here."
Shanghai is afforded a travel budget to play international competition every year. The team travelled across Europe last year after initially trying to arrange a West Coast trip that included ASU. Shenghua was persistent and, with a major assist from Clapper, managed to organize the American tour this year. After playing ASU, Shanghai will head to California to take on USC twice in Los Angeles, along with games against the U.S. National Team and Long Beach State.
"It was a lot more involved than organizing a normal trip," said Clapper, who has an 84-34 record since the 2012 season and placed fifth in the NCAA Tournament in 2014. "There were visas involved. We had to send the official letter of invitation based on what they needed to take to the embassy and we had to put together a budget of what it would cost so they could take that to their government institute to get funding for the trip.
Clapper thought it was worthwhile for a number of reasons. The Sun Devils normally train for three weeks from the start of January until their season begins, making for a long monotonous training camp that will now be broken up by games.
"This gave us an opportunity to have something to train toward in the short term and see how all our concepts and teachings are working," he said.
Clapper also liked the idea of giving his younger players and his bench experience in exhibition games that do not count toward NCAA at-large bids when choosing the tournament field.
"There are at least five former Olympians on the team we're facing," he said. "I think it will be a very physical, fast game with a lot of counter-attacks. It will be really good for us."
The cultural exchange will be just as valuable, Clapper said. After the second game on Saturday, the teams will have dinner together, affording them a chance to get to know each other, compare notes on training and playing styles, and share their living experiences from two vastly different cultures.
"We're coordinating with the international students office and promoting it in the Chinese community," said Clapper, who has seven players on his roster from foreign nations. "We're really hoping we can get some of the local community to come and watch because it's a really interesting story. It's a great experience for us and we're really happy that they're here."