TEMPE, Ariz. -- It's no secret that major collegiate athletics have become a year-round enterprise. Competition is so fierce that a true offseason is a luxury few student-athletes or programs can afford.
The women's water polo team is doing more than training to stay in shape or augment its skill sets, however. Seven Sun Devils are training with their respective national teams, and some have already competed in international competition, with more planned this summer.
Bente Rogge and Maud Koopman are training with the Netherlands national team, Lena Mihailovic is working with the Australian national team, Alkistis Benekou is with the Greek team, Rosie Huck will compete for Great Britain at the University Games in Taipei in August, goalkeeper Mia Rycraw is competing for the United States national team and P.J. Allin (Canada) made the list of players training at selection camp for Junior World Championship in Greece in September.
The present and future look promising with a sophomore (Rogge), three juniors (Koopman, Allin and Huck) and three seniors (Rycraw, Mihailovic, and Benekou) on the 2017-18 roster participating in international competition this summer.
Rogge, Mihailovic, Benekou and Rycraw all competed at the Kunshan Cup in China earlier this month. The U.S. defeated Greece 11-8 in a shootout to win the tournament. Rycraw had eight saves and stopped all three attempts by Greece in the shootout.
"It's an opportunity for some of these players playing at the senior level to play against much older competition which means playing and training at a really high level," Sun Devils coach Todd Clapper said. "Because they are playing all summer long, they are going to come back a lot more mature with their games at a higher level. The college game will just slow down for them."
Benekou is training in Athens, but the Greeks are competing in another tournament in Spain this week and will take part in the World Championships in Budapest in July.
"It's good to see where I am right now and find what I need to improve as a player for the future," Benekou said. "I really enjoy training with the national team. It's always a challenge. Personally, I think it will give me even more motivation to keep trying to get better every day so I can be the best me."
Rogge is currently preparing for the World Championship by training in Zeist, Utrecht, the most populous city in that Dutch province in the center of the Netherlands.
"Right now, there are 16 players left but only 13 will be playing in Budapest so I don't know if I will actually make the team," she said. "After the World Championship in Budapest I will start training for the World Championships Under 20 team. Last summer, we won the gold medal at the European Championships under 20 so I'm really excited to see how we are going to perform this summer in Volos, Greece.
"I think it's a great experience to be able to train with the national team because I feel like I'm getting better every day and I'm especially exited for the world championship under 20 in Volos because this will be my last tournament with the youth and I feel like we can win a medal in that tournament."
Clapper said he works with the national teams to help facilitate this part of his players' development.
"The national coaches will ask for video, ask for swim test or fitness tests and we always reach out to them to ask if there are certain things they want us to do here so we can make sure they get that work in to be prepared," Clapper said. "Swimming and lifting standards are really important. We want to put them in the best positions to compete for these teams."
All seven players will return to ASU in the fall with a wealth of new information, new skills, new experiences and a heightened sense of worth. Clapper believes that experience will aid a Sun Devils team that is on the cusp of national contention in the NCAA's toughest conference, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
"This will be most returning players we've ever had competing in the summer," Clapper said. "We're taking some more steps forward as a program. For a while, we've been in that top four to six teams in the nation. Now we're trying to crack into that top group and I feel we're starting to break through."
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The women's water polo team is doing more than training to stay in shape or augment its skill sets, however. Seven Sun Devils are training with their respective national teams, and some have already competed in international competition, with more planned this summer.
Bente Rogge and Maud Koopman are training with the Netherlands national team, Lena Mihailovic is working with the Australian national team, Alkistis Benekou is with the Greek team, Rosie Huck will compete for Great Britain at the University Games in Taipei in August, goalkeeper Mia Rycraw is competing for the United States national team and P.J. Allin (Canada) made the list of players training at selection camp for Junior World Championship in Greece in September.
The present and future look promising with a sophomore (Rogge), three juniors (Koopman, Allin and Huck) and three seniors (Rycraw, Mihailovic, and Benekou) on the 2017-18 roster participating in international competition this summer.
Rogge, Mihailovic, Benekou and Rycraw all competed at the Kunshan Cup in China earlier this month. The U.S. defeated Greece 11-8 in a shootout to win the tournament. Rycraw had eight saves and stopped all three attempts by Greece in the shootout.
"It's an opportunity for some of these players playing at the senior level to play against much older competition which means playing and training at a really high level," Sun Devils coach Todd Clapper said. "Because they are playing all summer long, they are going to come back a lot more mature with their games at a higher level. The college game will just slow down for them."
Benekou is training in Athens, but the Greeks are competing in another tournament in Spain this week and will take part in the World Championships in Budapest in July.
"It's good to see where I am right now and find what I need to improve as a player for the future," Benekou said. "I really enjoy training with the national team. It's always a challenge. Personally, I think it will give me even more motivation to keep trying to get better every day so I can be the best me."
Rogge is currently preparing for the World Championship by training in Zeist, Utrecht, the most populous city in that Dutch province in the center of the Netherlands.
"Right now, there are 16 players left but only 13 will be playing in Budapest so I don't know if I will actually make the team," she said. "After the World Championship in Budapest I will start training for the World Championships Under 20 team. Last summer, we won the gold medal at the European Championships under 20 so I'm really excited to see how we are going to perform this summer in Volos, Greece.
"I think it's a great experience to be able to train with the national team because I feel like I'm getting better every day and I'm especially exited for the world championship under 20 in Volos because this will be my last tournament with the youth and I feel like we can win a medal in that tournament."
Clapper said he works with the national teams to help facilitate this part of his players' development.
"The national coaches will ask for video, ask for swim test or fitness tests and we always reach out to them to ask if there are certain things they want us to do here so we can make sure they get that work in to be prepared," Clapper said. "Swimming and lifting standards are really important. We want to put them in the best positions to compete for these teams."
All seven players will return to ASU in the fall with a wealth of new information, new skills, new experiences and a heightened sense of worth. Clapper believes that experience will aid a Sun Devils team that is on the cusp of national contention in the NCAA's toughest conference, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
"This will be most returning players we've ever had competing in the summer," Clapper said. "We're taking some more steps forward as a program. For a while, we've been in that top four to six teams in the nation. Now we're trying to crack into that top group and I feel we're starting to break through."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter