Girls water polo: Scouting Northwest

BarringtonCoach Mark Markwell's team got off to a winning start at home on Thursday with a 5-2 victory over host Rolling Meadows in a Mid-Suburban League crossover matchup. Leading the way in scoring was senior Mia Latimer with 3 goals. Among the other familiar faces in the first game of the season were goale Ellie Connors and Nicole Runtz, who score a goal. The Fillies, who finished 10-17 last year, are idle through the weekend before opening Mid-Suburban West play on Monday at Fremd.

Buffalo GroveThe Bison lost some productive important players to graduation, and coach Jeff Skalon is looking toward a younger group to make strides toward eventually duplicating that success. While Jessica Graziano, Sarah Morosan and goalie Rebecca Gaare have moved on, the players best positioned to help BG this year are Sarah Harner, Lauren Komrska and Bianca Dobra. Skalon cites Elise Malin, Kate Godley, Dasha Yermol and Anna Gately among the young players showing promise. "We are a young team filled with potential," Skalon said. "Currently our drive is to continue to master the fundamentals, and to be students of the game. Our girls are looking to just gain more experience with each other and build to be a top contender in the East. Every game we will be looking to work on another element to the game."

ConantCougars coach Justin Bickus characterizes his team not in rebuilding mode, but rather in re-gelling mode. And so far, Conant is stylin'. With a 12-4 victory over defending MSL East champ Wheeling on Wednesday, the outlook is bright again for the Cougars after last season's best-ever campaign, which included an MSL title and the program's first Elite Eight appearance. Many of the key contributors from that group, including standout Carmen Rosas, are gone, but a handful of key players are back, including senior Sam Wooley, junior Paulina Chowaniec and senior Claire Rosas. Bickus say their versatility typifies the team's strength - underscored by the fact that 11 of his key players are listed with 'utility' as at least part of their position. Among them are seniors Kerri Keppler and Hannah Lukas, juniors Olivia Konieczny and Lea Cejvan and sophomores Aly Wooley, Sarah Compton, Amanda Skittone, Amy Rodriguez and Nia Tsoulos. Cam Rosas, a junior, will handle the goalkeeping. "I would like to think we can challenge teams in our conference and possibly go after a division or conference title," Bickus said. "I know we'll be improving all season and at least expect to be a contender once the state tournament starts. I'm preaching improvement, but I think this team is talented and hopefully we'll surprise some people."

Elk GroveCoach Jason Spjuth looks back at last year, a season when wins were generally hard to come by, as anything but a total loss. A generally young Grenadiers team gained tons of varsity experience, and many of those players aim to put the knowledge to use this season. Expect the keys to be senior 2-meter set Lilly Lawrin, junior point and 2-meter defender Hannah Sallenback, junior driver Lindsey Hendren and senior driver Alyssa Rosenorn. "Last year it took us a little while to get in the groove of playing competitive water polo," Spjuth said. "Our growth as a team and a program was recognizable in how we were able to correct mistakes we had made earlier in the season and give teams a tough time during our second matchup with them." Others expected to have say in Elk Grove's development include senior Rachel Lullo (wing/driver), sophomores Alyssa Bonilla (wing/driver), Jessica Deering (goalie), Abby Farmer (wing/driver) and freshman Kaylee Hatfield (driver/point). "It is my goal that we start this season with the same style of play that we worked towards last year and look to win some of the closely contested conference matches we had last year," Spjuth said. "This team has put the work in, and I believe that their year-round commitment to this team will show throughout this season."

FremdAfter a long spring without a true home pool last season, the Vikings are enjoying getting their own waters back this time around. And just maybe the shared hardship of last season will have an enduring benefit or two for Fremd. "This year's team has a strong chemistry and outstanding leadership in and out of the water," says coach Ray Roth, "and is very excited to be back home at Fremd with a fantastic new facility." Among the key returners are senior goalie Emma Jeronimus, senior driver Becca Rutkowski and junior driver Emily Kini. Others expected take prominent roles include seniors utility players Jenessa Islas-Parker, Karolina Urban and Sarah Coombes and junior driver Paulina Pappas, while sophomores Lauren Streitmatter and Braegan Tayler join the varsity effort. "The team looks to be competitive in the conference while building momentum heading into sectionals," Roth said. "One of our major challenges is to replace six out of seven starters from last year but the team feels confident they can have a strong season."

HerseyCoach Megan Brownley's first order of business is replacing a pair of valuable graduated players, 2-meter defender Elizabeth Niersbach and offensive 2-meter set/driver Katie Lutz. From Brownley's perspective, there are many candidates to get it done, but it may take some time to sort out exactly how. The most accomplised returning players are sophomore Katie Lindgren, junior Karolina Niemiec and seniors Stephanie Surkin and Caleigh O'Neil. New to varsity and certainly part of the equation for the Huskies are senior Kat Gorey, juniors Adi Bukin, Keri Siozios and Andie Dougherty and sophomore Madison Burkhalter. "We have lots of talent spread out among our girls - we're looking for everyone to contribute in different ways," Brownley said. "Our team goals are to win the MSL East, win the Glenbrook South tournament, and make it further in sectionals. We have a really good group of girls that connect really well together, so hopefully that comes through in their playing this season. We are very excited and ready."

Hoffman EstatesCoach Chris Fetterman is in the fortunate position to be returning the bulk of his starting lineup from last season, and he's adjusting expectations for the team accordingly. Five players - seniors Francia Morales-Diaz, Jenny Fermaintt, Ann Cho, Magdiel Miranda-Lopez and junior Maggie Rommel - are the main reason for the optimism at Hoffman Estates. Fetterman expects freshmen newcomers Benita Varanauskaite, Ali Bajor and Abby Fuscone to have an impact as well. "Our team goal is to be prepared by early May to make a run at sectionals," Fetterman said. "We have gotten bigger, stronger, faster and a lot tougher. We do not not shy away from setting bold goals and we will not start now. Our regular season will not dictate our success at the end of the season - we are going for it."

PalatineIt's the Pirates' turn to battle limited pool time (graciously afforded by Fremd), but that's probably not the main challenge for Palatine this season. Rather, it's replacing a couple of key graduated seniors in Caroline Wojtas and Caitlin McHugh, who accounted for roughly 70 percent of the team's scoring last season. "We are hoping to build on our success from the past couple of seasons, but we will need people to step up as we have some rather large holes to fill," said coach Mitch Tucker. Candidates for that stepping-up effort include seniors Mathilde Mogensen, Tess O'Brien, Kristin Anderson and Hannah Jozefat. Tucker counts Kiki Herbst and goalie Meghan Woell among the promising newcomers to the varsity effort. "This year, we should have one of the faster teams in the area," said Tucker, "and we have a lot of girls eager to show they can compete with the top teams in the conference."

ProspectAccording to coach Natalie Tucker, the Knights are looking for lineup answers - only natural after last year's highly successful group was dominated by seniors. One of the returners is junior Gracie Dix, an offensive 2-meter standout. Other key familiar faces are senior goalie Lauren Broz, senior 2-meter defender Gianna Honcharuk and sophomore wing/forward Ann Fulk. Joining the rebuilding effort will be varsity newcomers Colleen Doyle (2-meter defender) and senior Mina Singateh (2-meter offense). "Prospect's general outlook this year is oriented around two goals," Tucker says. "The first is to rebuild after losing five starting seniors last year - fortunately, our younger athletes are eager to step up to bat. The second is to make the most of a wide-open MSL field this year. Prospect is gunning for a title, with laser sharp focus on attaining that goal."

Rolling MeadowsThe outlook is certainly sunny for the Mustangs this year, as the majority of players from last year's team are back in the fold. Rolling Meadows was competitive with about everybody in the MSL East last year, and coach Kelli Lussow hopes another year of off-season development could tilt the balance decisively in her team's favor. The top returning players are seniors Sara Luedloff (wing/driver), Lizzie Hart (wing/driver) and Anna Frantom (2-meter defender) along with juniors Betsy Zanocco (goalie, and perhaps 2-meter set) and Emily Walters (wing/driver). "Our returning starters have dedicated themselves in the off-season and have been pivotal in the turn around of this team over the last few years," Lussow said. Joining them in an effort toward team goals of an above-.500 finish and an MSL East title are senior Bailey Rowley, junior Grace Nykol, sophomore Kaeley Hickey and freshman Maggie Goodwin. "This team is talented, dedicated and adjusts well - quickly," Lussow said. "We have natural-born leaders who look for ways to improve with each practice. We have a packed schedule and are excited for the season."

SchaumburgCoach Beth Donatucci is counting on co-captains Rebecca Kasner, a senior, and junior Brianna Vasquez to set the tone after the Saxons lost six seniors from last year's varsity squad. As both Kasner and Vasquez excel defensively, expect Schaumburg to make that a focus in the early going. four more seniors with plenty of experience in the program will help with the transition - Jessica Bukielski, Riley Houts, Alexa Patti and Joey Trujillo. "The five seniors have been part of this program for all four years and have created an atmosphere for growth," Donatucci says. "They work hard - and work extremely well together." Three more from the junior class are also expected to play key roles: Hannah Pearson, Emily Droege and goalie Sidney Rosenblum. "Our varsity girls have come together to ensure that we continue to press forward and begin this season the way we left off last season when looking at skills, goals and outcomes," Donatucci said.

WheelingThe post-Godlewski era begins for the Wildcats, as the program thrived under her play for the the last four seasons, with MSL East titles the last two years and an overall MSL championship in 2014. One key player returning from those teams is senior Argelia Diaz, who will do most of the driving from the point. Against Conant on Wednesday in a 12-4 loss, Diaz drew 5 ejections. Also back from last season are drivers Adrienne Rozmus and Paulina Stolarska, and coach Bob Savitt has three new starters - Holly Schroeder (set) and wings Adrianna Passannante and Thalia Kahn. In that 12-4 loss to Conant, Savitt was actually encouraged by what he saw. "My girls all play really good defense - Conant just made us pay for any little mistake, good teams do that to you," Savitt said. "We just watched the game tape, and the score wasn't indicative of the game. So I'm hopeful for another strong season."