Big Red Girls’ Water Polo Outlasts Loomis
On Saturday, the girls’ varsity water polo team played its first home game of the season against Loomis Chaffee. This game would have been its second, but the team’s game scheduled against Deerfield last Saturday was canceled and rescheduled due to haphazard weather. Nonetheless, Big Red defeated Loomis with a final score of 10-4 in a competitive and thrilling game.
By halftime, the game remained extremely close with Big Red leading Loomis by only a slim one point margin, 5-4. Many players admitted that the team took some time to “get in the rhythm.” Lower Issy Wise revealed Loomis played particularly strong in the first half, pressuring Exeter to match its intensity. “Loomis put up a fight, in the beginning, so the game got off to a tough start,” she said.
Senior and co-captain Emily LaRovere agreed with Wise, describing the team as “a little disheveled” during the first two-quarters.
“We definitely have a lot to work on, but we’ll be prepared to take on Hopkins and Suffield. We kind of have a little rivalry with Hopkins, so I’m especially excited to face them this weekend.”
However, Exeter built on its momentum and distanced themselves from Loomis in the second half, scoring five more goals. The team’s strong defense and goaltending prevented Loomis from gaining additional points. Lower Samantha Gove explained that Exeter played better in the second half of the game. “The beginning of the game felt rough for us, but in the second half it all seemed to click for everyone in the pool,” Gove said.
Replacing Madison Hillyard ‘16 as goalie provided the water polo team with one of its greatest challenges. Lower Elizabeth Madamidola filled the position in her very first water polo game last Saturday. Many members of the team applauded the lower for the enthusiasm and skill she displayed. “Our new goalie, [Madamidola], played her very first water polo game and did an amazing job,” LaRovere expressed. Gove echoed LaRovere’s sentiments and explained that Madamidola “completely smashed our expectations.”
Despite Big Red’s success in the pool, the team realized there are many areas which need improvement. Wise pointed out that the team will work on making more precise and smart passes during games. “Especially towards the beginning of the Loomis game, we made a lot of poor passes,” Wise added. Sam elaborated that the skill will “come with time, seeing as we were all pretty excited and scared for our first game.”
Girls’ varsity water polo plans to build its momentum towards a championship by the end of the season starting with this Saturday’s games against Hopkins and Suffield. LaRovere expressed her enthusiasm for the upcoming games, “We definitely have a lot to work on, but we’ll be prepared to take on Hopkins and Suffield. We kind of have a little rivalry with Hopkins, so I’m especially excited to face them this weekend.”