Lucy Worden
Lucy Worden (junior), who has been playing water sports most of her life, walked on to the women’s water polo team this year after transferring to Occidental. In the team’s first game of the season against Carthage College Jan. 31, Worden scored three goals in the team’s 12-11 win.
“It was our first game of the season,” Worden said. “I think [there were] a lot of nerves building up to it.”
Despite adding seven new members this year, Worden said the team did a good job of controlling play for their first game together.
“It’s really […] cool that we were able to actually make some moves on offense knowing that we’re still kind of a new team,” Worden said.
Worden said that according to her returning teammates, the team has improved significantly compared to previous seasons. She said she has been able to make connections on the team very easily. After joining the team this year, Worden said that from athletics to academics, she’s improved in more ways than one.
“[It] makes you get all your ducks in order for the week,” Worden said.
Worden said water polo is a very team-oriented sport and that her teammates are very supportive of each other. Because of the tight-knit community, it often feels worse when you make a mistake, according to Worden.
“When you mess up, it’s really difficult to let it go,” Worden said. “If I make a mistake, I get really disappointed because I’m like, ‘Damn, I could have done so much better for my team.’”
However, she said no team member actually holds a grudge, especially since it was the first game of the season.
Worden attributes a lot of her success to her first-year coach, Coach Lindsey Garcia. Worden said the team rewatched the game film together, Garcia often pausing it and breaking down plays and strategies.
“[It’s] nice to hear it from somebody who really knows what’s happening,” Worden said. “I’ve never had a coach like this.”
Jacob Hamermesh
Breaking the men’s basketball school record with 13 assists in a Jan. 29 game at Whittier, Jacob Hamermesh (senior) has been putting in the work on and off the court. A 6’5” starting center, Hamermesh broke the standing school record of 11 assists, previously set by his very own coach, Brian Newhall ’83.
“I knew I had a bunch of assists, but I didn’t realize I had that many,” said Hamermesh.
Hamermesh said it is his first year starting on the team, but he has been playing his whole life. According to Assistant Coach Kebu Stewart, Hamermesh has been working tremendously hard from the basketball court to the weight room. Stewart said he attributes Hamermesh’s success to his confidence, his desire to win and his passion.
Stewart said that Hamermesh loves basketball, and his dedication to the sport and to his team has been paying off.
“He has all the things that it takes for him to be successful,” Stewart said. “I’m just there to make sure […] that happens for him.”
Hamermesh said he gives credit to his team and that it really was his teammates’ record, not his.
“They were just getting open,” Hamermesh said. “And I was giving them the ball.”
On the court, Hamermesh’s strengths are passing, knowing where his teammates are and making the right plays, Stewart said. Stewart saidHamermesh has a very high IQ and does not do things he cannot do. But according to Stewart, though, basketball is about more than just the game, and Hamermesh was not sure he would play this year.
“I try to teach him about life,” Stewart said. “I told him that you [have to] finish what you start.”
Stewart said the team respects Hamermesh on and off the court, as a player, as a person and as a leader. He said Hamermesh displays his leadership on the court with both words and actions.
“He’s not a guy that’s just a talker,” Stewart said.
Coach Stewart said it has been a pleasure working with a player like Hamermesh and that he deserves the record. Hamermesh has dedicated himself to having a successful season and the hard work has paid off, according to Stewart.
“He’s playing his best basketball of his life right now,” Stewart said. “If you can have 12 Jacob Hammers on a basketball team, you’re gonna be in good shape.”
Contact Amelia Darling at adarling@oxy.edu
