Even though they grew up in two entirely different places, Claire Pierce and Sara Hudyn are sharing the dream of playing their favorite sport at a collegiate level, water polo.

The duo currently leads CSU East Bay’s Pioneer water polo team as the top two leading scorers of the season, Hudyn with 107 goals and Pierce following with 86. The girls are both from countries in which water polo is not popular amongst collegiate athletics.

Pierce, who was born in Australia, never imagined coming to the U.S. or playing water polo past high school.

“I never really thought about it, I didn’t even know about it to be honest,” said Peirce. “I didn’t know it was a college sport until I got an email from Coach Lisa asking if I was interested in coming to Cal State East Bay and playing.”

Pierce, who started playing water polo at the age of 12, would have had to face a tough decision if she stayed in Australia and played past high school.

“The program in Australia is completely different. We don’t have college water polo, or college sports really at all. If I wanted to play water polo and go to a university it would be two separate things,” she said. “It would be harder to manage and finance things whereas here you get to play and go to a university and it’s a packaged deal. It’s a much better deal than being at home and having to manage two separate parts of your life.”

Hudyn, a native Canadian, also found herself in a similar situation during her high school senior season of water polo.

“I never really thought much about playing past when I was done. I was going to stay at home; water polo is not big at home either,” said Hudyn. “It’s just not one of those sports you hear people talking about, but then Lisa contacted me and asked me if I was interested in playing, so I came out.”

Being athletic and team oriented has always been a huge part of the girls’ lives. They both participated in a variety of other sports before deciding to specialize in water polo.

Pierce played basketball, swam and ran cross-country. However, it was the outdoors that attracted her to the sport of water polo. After qualifying for her Junior National team in Australia when she was 16, she found she couldn’t get away from it. Since then, water polo became a significant part of her life.

“I just kind of fell into water polo. In Australia it is a summer sport so that kind of attracted me to it,” she said. “It was also fun, the team had a good group of girls, and I just kind of stuck with it.”

The team is also what motivated Pierce to extend her water polo career to four years at CSUEB.

“Originally, it was going to be a six month thing where I would come over here, have a little bit of fun and get a good experience,” she said. “But I had a really good time; I got to play what I love and get an education at the same time, so I decided to stay.”

In high school Hudyn was a well-rounded athlete, however she admits it was the aggressiveness of water polo that attracted her to the sport the most.

“It is a little more physical and you could be a lot more aggressive with your opponents compared to volleyball or basketball,” she said.” “Under the water you can kick and grab, you can get away with a little more than in a sport where they can see what’s going on.”

Hudyn kept herself in shape by playing sports for her high school while training separately for water polo year-round. After joining a year-round summer team that allowed her to travel, she began to get more serious about the sport.

Prior to her freshman year at CSUEB, Hudyn underwent a discouraging experience. However, she used this as motivation to help her train harder to become the athlete she was meant to be.

“Right before I came in as a freshman at East Bay, I tried out for the national team in Canada and didn’t make it; I got cut right at the end of the camp,” Hudyn told The Pioneer.

This left her feeling rejected and nervous about joining a new team right after she had been cut.

“I felt rejected at first, but coming into a new team made me want to work really hard and try to be accepted on the team. I wanted to know for sure that I had a place,” she said.

Hudyn now leads the Pioneer women’s water polo team with the highest scoring record in program history, a progress well worked for.

Pierce, currently a senior and graphic design major at CSUEB, holds her academics at the same level of importance as her athletic performance. She manages her studies by prioritizing her time around her training schedule.

“My education is very important to me. I’m very big on grades so I always strive to get good grades,” she said. “Once you get on top of it, get into a routine, and know what you gotta do, it’s easy to achieve and be successful in both areas.”

On the other hand, Hudyn, a junior and history major, uses athletics as motivation for success in the classroom.

“I’ve never been a big school person, I’ve always liked sports more,” said Hudyn. “But in order to be eligible to play on a sports team, you have to get good grades and pass your classes. To me motivation in the classroom is knowing that if I do well I will get to play.”

Hudyn currently has one year left of her water polo career; afterwards she plans on moving back to Canada.

“As much fun as I’ve had in California, and even though I like it and it was a great experience, I definitely think I’ll move home after graduation,” she said.” “I love Canada, it’s not that I don’t like anything here, I just love it more there.”

While only 20 years old and undecided on a potential career, Hudyn would also like to travel and continue to play water polo upon graduation.

“I would love to keep playing somewhere for a little while. I’ve played for so long that it would be weird to just stop,” she said.

Pierce will be completing her degree within a week and plans to graduate in the fall. She will finish the following year in the Bay Area gaining experience in the field of graphic design. In the future she hopes to end up back in Australia.

“I can see myself having a little bit of fun here. I really want to gain as much experience as possible,” she said. “I’d like to get into some 3D artwork and see where that takes me as well.”

Like Hudyn, Pierce has been a dedicated athlete for the majority of her life and hopes to continue playing water polo following graduation.

“I can see myself playing water polo in the future, not next year when I’m back here, but in Australia,” she said. “They have a program back there that I was involved with before I came here that I would probably get back involved with.”

During the week of April 10, Pierce and Hudyn were named KAP7 Western Water Polo Association Co-Players of the week. This is the first time in 2013 the Pioneers have been honored with a weekly award from the WWPA.

Together, Pierce and Hudyn have led the Pioneers to a successful season with a record of 16-15

Head Coach Lisa Cooper told The Pioneer in an interview that she is honored to have two talented athletes on her team that can play both ends of the pool (offense and defense).

“Sara has really matured as a player this year and leads the team conference in scoring. She has been an offensive threat in every game we have played,” said Cooper. “Claire can single handily destroy an opponent. She is one of the most well-rounded players in the country.”