Shannon Mayo, Staff Photographer

Sports teams deal with adversity in different ways.

Some squads fold when facing demanding competition, and some don’t. Some teams fall apart, and some pull themselves together and show what they are made of.

Last weekend, at the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich., No. 7 San Diego State showed its true colors: determination and skill.

Coming off a 12-3 blowout loss to No. 3 UCLA the previous weekend, SDSU knew it would be challenged at Canham Natatorium, where it would play four games – two against nationally ranked teams – in two days.

But the Aztecs showed no signs of the rusty performance they had offered the weekend before.

In short, they managed to easily dismantle four teams, two of which were nationally ranked – No. 19 Indiana and the No.15 Wolverines.

In all but one out of 16 periods of play over the four games that it competed, SDSU dominated by an average of nine goals (12-3, 12-5, 13-0, 13-6), hence an improvent in its overall record, to 12-5.

“We definitely were preparing for much closer games because they were ranked and we were playing in their home waters,” head coach Carin Crawford said. “But we did a good job of scouting them and our defense was outstanding.”

The Aztecs were more dominant on Sunday afternoon against Michigan than they have been in years. Since March 2, 2002 to be exact. By beating the Wolverines 13-0, SDSU managed its first shutout since beating the University of Redlands, 5-0, more than four years ago.

Paced throughout the weekend by senior Rachel Serna, who scored eight goals in the games, the team hardly struggled in its four victories.

“(Serna) had some amazing shots and countered really well,” Crawford said. “We had some really good ball movement and showed great patience overall as a team.”

Despite the Aztecs’ intense schedule, facing top-20 schools in what seems to be every other game, they’re maintaining the solid play that has earned it its own top-10 ranking in the country. SDSU is showing that they will be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to playing USC, Stanford and the other elite teams of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

“We know that we need to put together complete games against the top opponents,” Crawford said. “There is a considerable difference between the top four teams and the rest of the teams in the rankings, but by making statements like we did this weekend, we are definitely closing the gaps.”