LOS ANGELES -- The day that Alaina Sudeith began playing water polo, the way her peers perceived her changed.

Before the UCLA sophomore joined the water polo team at University High School in Irvine, her classmates knew her as a tomboy. Afterward, many wrongly assumed she was a lesbian.

"There's a double-standard for men and women in sports because men are encouraged to be strong and competitive, but if a woman expresses any interest in sports, she's labeled as butch," said Sudeith, a member of UCLA's club women's water polo team. "There is a homophobic backlash against straight female athletes, and I find it to be pretty ridiculous."

"I've been told from guys on campus that I shouldn't play sports because everybody would think I was a lesbian, and no guys would be interested in me," Sudeith said. "This was even from gay guys."