Women's water polo players can get dirty under the water.
"Men get rough and punch and shove, but women are really grabby and pull off bathing suits," said co-captain Annalyse Arguelles. "If the ref doesn't see it, then it's not a foul."
Co-captain Kaye Eldridge showed a scar on her hip she said was from a toenail scratch. She said there are nail checks before every game, and a team can call for one at any time.
Eldridge said she prefers to psyche the other team out.
"I like to get a strong hold on the competition and freak them out," she said.
There are 16 players on the women's team and six on the men's.
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The team is not funded by UNM's Athletic Department and receives all its money from ASUNM. It became a chartered student group last fall and was allotted $750 a semester.
"Most of that went to membership fees for the Collegiate Water Polo Association," Eldridge said. "The men's team is sharing their equipment."
The men's team receives $2,100 per semester and has been chartered for two years. To cut costs, the team members take turns life guarding their practices.
Jeremiah Stanton, captain of the men's team, said the little funding they get provides the basics.
"That just allows us to buy balls and caps," he said. "We're still trying to get as much money as we can."
The men's team hired a coach for this season who volunteers his time, Stanton said. The men's season ended in the fall, but the team will continue to compete in independent tournaments.
"We just won't compete against colleges right now," he said, adding they had a winning season.
"Out of seven games, we lost two," Stanton said. "At conference, we won four games out of eight."
UNM will host a men's water polo tournament in March. The women will be competing in their first conference this weekend.
"The girls are new, but they are going to do really well at conference," he said.
The women will travel to Colorado Springs to compete against Air Force Academy.
"I think we can beat them," Arguelles said. "We have a strong team."
Eldridge said last time the two teams faced off, UNM lost by only one point and won the other two tournaments it played in.
"We have a good chance of winning this tournament and going to nationals," Arguelles said.
There are no tryouts for the team, Eldridge said. The only requirement is participants take 12 hours as an undergraduate student or six hours as a graduate student.
"We welcome everybody," Arguelles said. "Our goal is to just teach the fundamentals of water polo and have fun."
