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Sophomore Kacy Kunkel has improved immensely since her first season and looks to provide a spark

The development of sophomore Kacy Kunkel into a key contributor for the top-ranked UCLA women’s water polo team this season can be attributed to many factors.

But perhaps the most important reason for her growth as a player has been her newfound swagger.

“Her time with the Junior National Team helped her confidence,” UCLA coach Adam Krikorian said. “Playing against the best players in the world every single day in practice here can be frustrating. When you’re playing on the Junior National level, you’re playing people your age. And once she started playing for that team, I think she realized how much she could do and that she could play at this level.”

Kunkel, who played for the U.S. Junior National Team that captured the gold medal at the 2005 Junior World Championship in January, concurs with her coach about the confidence that grew from her time playing with international competition.

“That’s where my confidence came from,” Kunkel said. “Just being picked for the team, you always feel honored with something like that.”

Last season, when the Bruins finished third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament and failed to make the NCAA Tournament, some felt Kunkel struggled to fulfill expectations.

However, Krikorian doesn’t believe her struggles were necessarily a result of her own inability to play to her potential, but more to do with the tough situation that she was forced into at such an early point.

“She was thrust into a position where she needed to produce for us to be successful,” Krikorian said. “Anytime you’re a freshmen, and you come into a situation where half the team is not there, either redshirting or taking a year off to compete with the National Team, it’s really difficult.”

Kunkel, who saw an unusually large amount of time in the pool as a freshman, agrees that last season was a difficult one. “It was a challenging year, last year,” Kunkel said. “But it helped me become the player I am this year.”

With the MPSF Tournament beginning this Friday, her coach and her teammates continue to believe that Kunkel’s confidence will continue to help her play well.

“I think Kacy Kunkel has played the best water polo she has ever played in the past 3-4 weeks,” Krikorian said. “She’s one of the top centers in this game today, I couldn’t be more proud of the way she’s performed and has been performing.”