The leap from high school to college was as different for Paige Tsuruda than just about anyone else.
Tsuruda, a senior driver for the Cal State Bakersfield women’s water polo team, was one of 21 students who made up the last graduating class at Word of Life before it shut its doors in 2010.
A member of the high school’s swimming team and a leader on the Pac-Five water polo team, Tsuruda, helped by the nudging of her parents, decided to keep her water polo career going at Bakersfield, where she just recently surpassed the 60 career goal mark.
The Roadrunners, a Division I program, made the jump from the WWPA to the MPSF last season. Tsuruda, one of two seniors on the team this year, is facing an uphill battle, leading an undermanned squad against the top schools in the country when the conference season kicks off next month.
"It’s way more aggressive. Last year, I got my first concussion, actually," said Tsuruda, who is also battling a back injury this season. "We’ve got a bunch of girls out already. A couple have concussions; we lost a girl because of a torn labrum; we only have like seven field players right now because water polo has gotten so physical."
It got even worse last weekend in a 13-9 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at the Cal Baptist Mini tournament. The Roadrunners had four different players foul out and at one point were playing a player down with a backup goalie serving as one of the field players.
Tsuruda’s experience as one of the two seniors playing right now has come in handy, especially as coach Jason Gall relies on her to help bring along a team with six freshmen.
"After four years of being here, there’s a little more pressure from the coach," Tsuruda said. "They expect a lot of us this year to help make sure the freshmen know what they are doing and the plays we are running."
Tsuruda’s college choice came down to Bakersfield and Iona College in New York.
Tsuruda preferred the warm California weather instead and that notion was proven true during a trip out East last season.
Cal State Bakersfield competed in the Brown Invitational in Rhode Island last April. The Roadrunners went 2-2 playing in an indoor pool.
"It was really cold and it was so weird because you could smell the chlorine in the air," Tsuruda said. "Playing indoors is way different and when you would yell there would be an echo, and you’d be like, ‘What did you say?"
Tsuruda is much more comfortable in the warm weather in Bakersfield, which is located between Los Angeles and San Francisco in a spot that is sometimes labeled as "the middle of nowhere."
Tsuruda has a different take on it.
"It’s actually in the middle of everywhere," she said. "You’re a two-hour drive to Los Angeles or you can drive up to San Francisco or drive to Fresno. It’s been cool because I’ve been able to go to a lot of different places."
Tsuruda and the Roadrunners, who are 3-7 this year, will play in the UC Davis tournament against San Jose State, Sonoma State, the host Aggies and Cal State East Bay next weekend. They have two more tournaments after that before opening MPSF play at USC on March 7.
