Girls’ Water Polo Gets Back to Work

After graduating six seniors last season, the 2017 girls’ water polo team, filled with fresh talent, is preparing to start off its season. Big Red will be looking to improve upon their 7-6 record from 2016.

Reflecting on the previous season, lower Sam Gove said that the team will be looking for redemption after losing a couple of close games that went to overtime. Another one of the team’s goals is to make the championships after missing the opportunity a year ago.

Led by co-captains and seniors Emily LaRovere and Autumn Herness, the team of 17 girls has spent the beginning of the season practicing water polo skills and drills.

Most of the team’s roster is filled with swimmers from the winter term. As a result, the girls are not only in great shape from swimming laps all winter, but they also already possess a strong sense of team unity.

“Water polo is a pretty aggressive sport so being confident and equally aggressive with the ball is important."

“With seven new girls on the team this season, the first week was a lot of learning and drills, but everyone is picking up the sport really well,” LaRovere said. Lower Ela Ferhangil praised her new teammates for learning quickly. “Compared to last year, the new players have picked up the game rather quickly,” she said.

Prep Wynter Sands, a first-time water polo player, discussed the guidance she has received from the more experienced members of the team. “All the returning girls are always willing to answer any questions I have and critique my form when practicing,” Sands said.

In this past week, the girls’ water polo team worked to improve where their skills are lacking. LaRovere explained that the team is working on “being aware of the ball and moving to open water” to have more opportunities to pass to teammates. “Water polo is a pretty aggressive sport so being confident and equally aggressive with the ball is important,” Ferhangil added.

The biggest challenge the team currently faces is finding someone to play the position of goalie. After the graduation of Madison Hillyard ‘16, the team has struggled to find a replacement for the crucial position.

“We are still in search of a goalie, and with our first game only a week away, we have been trying out different girls at practice,” LaRovere said. Ferhangil echoed LaRovere’s sentiments and added, “The coaches have already narrowed it down to a few possibilities.”

Throughout the term, Big Red will play fourteen different teams leading up to the Liquid Four championship tournament. Many of the team’s games that will be hosted on campus.

The group’s first game will be on Saturday, Apr. 1. The team will travel to Deerfield Academy and hopefully clinch a decisive win, as they defeated Deerfield 14-2 last season’s season opening game. Playing in Deerfield’s shallow-end pool will be a challenge within itself, but the girls are up to the challenge. With a strong performance against Deerfield, the team hopes to set a precedent for the rest of the games.