Girls water polo: Scouting Lake County

NORTH SUBURBAN

LIBERTYVILLE

Coach: Tracy Balla (second year)

Last year: 8-17, 2-2 NSC, beat Lake Forest before losing in sectional finals

Key players lost: All conference goalie Maddie Bollinger, Hannah Mendralla, Laurie Niederbrach, Emma Yonan

Key returning players: Seniors Jess Lanty (offensive hole set), Lily Marcus (point/defensive hole), Kathryn Dane (goalie), Grace Hurley (utility); juniors Michaela Olsen (left flat/driver), Hayden Marth (left wing)

Season outlook: The Wildcats graduated most of last year's starting lineup but expectations are still high. Many girls played club during the summer and winter. "We are building on a lot of the foundational work we did last season and have started off this season on the right foot," coach Tracy Balla said. "The players are willing to work hard, and we spent the first week of practice emphasizing the fundamentals." Because of the holes left from graduation, players will be in new positions this spring. Jess Lanty is a preseason Illpolo.com player to watch, while utility player Grace Hurley is a preseason difference-maker. "We are hoping to improve our overall record this season and our sectional performance from last season," Balla said.

MUNDELEIN

Coach: Mike Vukovics (first year)

Last year: 10-20, 1-3 NSC

Key players lost: Tara Lawson

Key returning players: Seniors utility players Lucy Renz and Jessica Peterson; junior utility player Abbie Lucas, junior defender Carolyn Westgate, junior defender Bryce Pauly; sophomore set Ella Krauss

Season outlook: "We are looking to rebuild the program to where it was in the late 90s and early 2000s," first-year coach Mike Vukovics, who has coached other sports at Mundelein over the past seven years. "To do so, we will work to get better each and every practice." The Mustangs are concentrating on the basics, like perseverance and teamwork. "I told them, 'When you care about each other as much as sisters do, that is when we will be successful,' " Vukovics said. "I tell them that this is a sisterhood and we are a family." Being competitive every game and winning conference are always the focal points. Mundelein has a young squad with only two senior starters in Jessica Peterson and Lucy Renz. The other starters include Abbie Lukas, Carolyn Westgate, Bryce Pauly and Ella Krauss. Sophomore AnnMarie Hirst and freshman Hannah Stanley will tend to the keeper duties. Lukas is a goal-scoring threat and was named to the preseason All-Illpolo.com team. Peterson is an Illpolo.com preseason player to watch, while Westgate was named difference-maker. Krauss and Pauly were named breakout players. Mundelein has good depth as well with senior Julia Whelan and juniors Amanda Garica, Cayce Parker and Nicolina Bottiglieri. "This group has already showed me they want to be significant in the state," Vukovics said. "Now we have to do the work to be significant."

STEVENSON

Coach: Jeff Wimer (16th year)

Last year: 34-2, 4-0, NSC champs, sectional champions, third place at state

Key losses: utility Allison Travetto (Long Beach State), keeper Lauren Burns (Brown)

Key returning players: Senior utility players and defenders Julia Nicholson and Fiona Gaffney; junior utility players and attackers Claire Haas, Eileen Hoang, Amelia Eastman; sophomore utility player Lauren Maloney

Season outlook: Chances are this will be another special season for the state's third-ranked team. Coach Jeff Wimer is closing in on 400 wins, as the Patriots are off to a 4-0 start after winning their own tournament last weekend. Goaltending was strong with junior Brigitte Lefebvre and sophomore Anna Mossakowski sharing duties and allowing only 3 goals per game. Stevenson has plenty of firepower on offense. Allison Travetto graduated after tallying a whopping 226 goals and 100 assists last season. "Last year we had Allison doing most of our scoring, but this year we have a lot of weapons and are more balanced," said Wimer. Amelia Eastman is difference-maker according to Illpolo.com, while Lauren Maloney was a preseason impact player and Fiona Gaffney a player to watch. Claire Haas and Eileen Hoang were named preseason All-Illpolo.com, and Brigitte Lefebvre and sophomore utility player Eleanor Michaud were listed as breakout players.

WARREN

Coach: Sarah Zink (first year)

Season outlook: This is the inaugural season for Warren, but there's strength in numbers as 32 girls are in the program. "We have had an overwhelming positive response," coach Sarah Zink said. "We had athletes coming from softball, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and some first-time athletes." Zink said several girls started learning water polo last year through summer camps and open pool sessions. "As we start to compete against other programs, our girls are doing a fantastic job of learning, absorbing, and ultimately growing into strong polo players," Zink said. This year's captains were voted on by the team. They include senior Ashley Edmondson, juniors Nicole Baelum and Jackie Oehlerking and sophomore Grace Heppner. "These girls have done a tremendous job so far of working together to stay positive and grow as team and individual players," said Zink, a former standout at Mundelein as well as a collegiate player.

CENTRAL SUBURBAN

VERNON HILLS

Coach: Jessica Glaeser (second year)

Last year: 1-25, 0-4 NSC

Top returning players: Seniors Katie Clayson (keeper), utility players and defenders Erin Blase, Emilia Panica, Blair Haberman and Arden Floom; junior attackers and defenders Alina Goodman and Diana Castro; sophomores Abby Kamai and Hannah Kramer

Season outlook: Three players graduated but numbers are pretty much the same for a program continuing to grow. Last year's 1-win season is a thing of the past as Vernon Hills won the Hoffman Estates tournament last weekend and is already off to a 4-1 overall as it looks forward to competing in its new league, the CSL North. "We gained a lot of new people, there's good energy and the girls are excited to play," assistant coach Katie Ahlgrim said during the Cougars' 17-5 drubbing of Resurrection earlier in the week. Katie Clayson is in her second year playing varsity goalie. "She's aggressive and can come out and change to a defender as well," Ahlgrim said. Emilia Pranica, one of the top scorers, was named as a difference-maker by Illpolo.com. Head coach Jessica Glaeser played at Mundelein and then on the men's team at Western Illinois.