Ryan Oldham | Lindenlink Contributor

*Photo courtesy of www.lindenwood.edu*

Lindenwood’s Lady Lions water polo team were left high and dry on Jan. 26 when they were told that there was a possibility of no transportation to their meet in Michigan.

The team was due to travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. for a meet against University of Michigan, University of Illinois, and Ohio State University in the Wolverine Invitational when Lindenwood told the team that they would not have transportation.

Jadin Kidson-Trigg, journalism major from Lodi, California said, “The team’s anxiety was high as we had to ask grad assistants, teachers, and coaches whether they would be able to drive us. My coach was angry beyond belief as he felt like the school wasn’t putting any effort forth to help us get a ride.”

Out of the four games that weekend at the Wolverine Invitational, the Lady Lions lost three and won one. This begs the question that the delay of transportation could have possibly been a hinder on the team’s performance that weekend, with the team not ending their ten hour drive until midnight.

Kidson-Trigg added, “The team got to Michigan with plenty of time to spare and I do not think that the delay was to blame for our poor performance. We took one white van, a mini-van and one of the athletic trainers had to drive too, as well as the diving coach.”

She also stated that they encountered a problem with gas on the way up to the invitational.

“The credit card [provided by the university] wasn’t always reliable during the trip. We went to fill up gas one time and the card got declined, but that was eventually fixed.”

The Lady Lions lost to University of Illinois by a score of 6-10, while also losing 4-7 and 5-6 in overtime against University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University. Their only win of the day came against the Ohio State Buckeyes, winning by a score of 7-3.

Last week’s Lindenwood Invitational saw them improve to 5-4 overall for the season with four wins and one loss, the loss at the hands of the University of Notre Dame. This also asks the question if being refreshed and ready helped the Lady Lions prepare properly for the upcoming games.

Next week, the Lady Lion’s water polo team will travel to Chicago, Ill. for the Fenwick Tournament with games again Michigan State University and a rematch against the University of Notre Dame, as long as there are no transportation delays.