Girls’ Water Polo Snags Six Season Wins
The girls’ varsity water polo team finished their season with a record of 6-8, which was not enough to qualify for the Liquid Four playoff tournament. Although the season’s results were disappointing, the team's scores were not entirely indicative of their talent.
Before leaving for spring vacation, the team held a competitive tryout. An unusually high number of girls tried out, so a JV team could have been formed. However, there ended up being only one team, composed of the 16 strongest players from the tryout. Since many of last year’s players had graduated, half of the players on the roster were new, although some had played water polo before attending Exeter. This combination of young talent and experienced returning girls gave the team high hopes before the start of their first game.
The girls did not disappoint in their first home game against Deerfield, starting their season off with a strong 14-2 win. The intense physical training of their first practices had paid off as they out-swam Deerfield for all four quarters. After just one quarter, Exeter also had a large enough lead to put in some new players. To no surprise, these young players were still able to extend the lead for the team. This playing time also gave these newer members valuable experience and showed the depth of talent within the team’s roster. Upper Emily Larovere described this first home game against Deerfield as her favorite. “It was our very first time playing as a new team and it was amazing to see how well all the new girls picked up the sport,” she said.
“I'm going to miss [playing] water polo. This team has made my Exeter experience amazing. It's been tough at points and it's a rough sport, but the team has had my back.”
The girls next played Williston North Hampton and Loomis in a double-header. Exeter destroyed Williston in the first game 15-6. The team found it easy to score and also easy to defend against the other team. Substitutions were made during the first game, but following this match the team was drained, despite having to start their next game immediately afterwards. Loomis, the powerhouse of the league, took advantage of the tired Exeter team and won 8-2 in the second game, handing Exeter their first loss of the season. The girls found it hard to keep up with their opponents’ fresh legs and as a result, Loomis scored most of their goals after the fast break.
After their first loss, the girls season began to slip away with tough match-ups against Andover, Suffield and Hopkins. The Exeter girls first played Andover at home. However, Andover ended up narrowly beating Big Red 8-6. The team was disappointed after the game because they knew that they should have won, and that they did not play well collectively. Their next two games against Suffield and Hopkins were also nail-biters. Unfortunately, Exeter lost to both of them in over time, 6-7 against Suffield and 5-6 against Hopkins.
Having lost four games in a row, the team needed to come together and rebound if they wanted to have a chance at qualifying for the Liquid Four. In another double-header against Williston and Choate, Big Red demolished Williston’s team with a 16-4 win. The girls were tired going into their game against Choate after playing Williston, and Choate won 5-4 in another close game.
In the next two rematch games, Exeter lost to Loomis 4-9 and lost to Deerfield and Greenwich 8-9 and 12-19, respectively, a week later. However, the season finished on a high note with 3 consecutive wins against Andover (13-9), Suffield (8-3) and Choate (13-4). All these teams had beaten Exeter earlier in the season, but the girls’ improvements over the course of the season helped them secure the wins. Lower Maddie Shapiro also credited the win to several of Big Red's players. “[There was a] really strong dynamic between four of our field players; [senior] Abby Ambrogi, Emily LaRovere, myself, and [prep] Issy Wise [that helped us] anticipate what plays we were going to make,” she said. In addition to the positive dynamic and improved team ability, playing the games at home helped the team win against Suffield and Choate. The girls’ opponents were not well conditioned to play in an all-deep pool and the Big Red players swam right by them.
Although the team did not make it into the tournament this season, they made tremendous improvements. The team is looking forward to an even better season next year, but they will have to say goodbye to five graduating seniors. Captains Ambrogi and Hillyard have left behind big shoes to fill. “I'm going to miss [playing] water polo. This team has made my Exeter experience amazing. It's been tough at points and it's a rough sport, but the team has had my back,” Hillyard said.