Girls water polo season preview

Barrington coach Mark Markwell is hoping the disappointment of last season's loss to Fremd in the sectional final hasn't been forgotten. The Fillies are hoping that some of the players who lived through that disappointment - such as Mary Fanslow, Jill Nagle, Claire Seizovic and Andrea Scardino - can help lead Barrington back to the Elite Eight after consecutive appearances in 2006 and '07. "We've got a good group of girls coming into the program," said Markwell. "I'd like to think that the girls who were around for last year will help us be better prepared this time."

Buffalo Grove and coach Shayna Mortenson have their work cut out for them in the rugged Mid-Suburban East. Roni Rebish and Rose Fasching scored against Prospect on Thursday, but the host Knights dominated the contest and won 12-2. On Saturday, the Bison dropped an 8-7 decision to Conant to even their record at 4-4. In early nonconference action, the Bison defeated Hoffman Estates 7-6 and Vernon Hills 8-7.

Conant coach Justin Bickus has a mix of old and new players, with 10 players graduated from last season but 10 fresh faces back for this year's team. Bikcus has a strong returning group lead by seniors Kirsten and Caitlin Reis, Megan Schram and Brianne Sochacki and a junior class that can contribute with Hannah Duke, Jessica Rowells, Kinga Wolska, and Liz Ernst. The freshman and sophomore newcomers who could make a difference are Lucie Banahan, Jessica Southern, Kristi Burke, Jackie Cobb and Leslie Wiesen. "Overall the whole team has been meshing well," Bickus said. "Our practices are allowing us to all get on the same page and have been very intense both in terms of conditioning, drills and running plays. The girls have all stepped up so far and have challenged teams that have more experience. During one of our early meetings we talked about us being the underdog all season. This is something that we'll bring to every game and try and get off our shoulder. The girls know they have a lot to prove, but we feel the way we're playing, correcting problems and jelling as a team, we can challenge the top teams in our area."

Elk Grove coach Kristen Kopf is hoping to use the early stages of the season as a learning experience. The Grenadiers' key player figures to be returning goalkeeper Michelle Mann, but she'll be missing for a bit longer battling illness. Kopf hopes to see all-around improvement - eventually. "We have some strong teams in our conference and we can certainly learn from them," the coach said. "Second, we need to become a stronger swimming team. This will allow us to run a more aggressive offense. "

Fremd coach Brian Newby is hoping to extend last year's success, when the Vikings finished 26-2, with a regular-season loss to Loyola and state quarterfinal defeat to Stevenson the only blemishes. The Vikings lost only two starters, Krysti Ruiz and Kristine Williams, to graduation. The key returners are Kelli DiCanio (goalie), Allison McCarthy (hole/driver), Danielle Chemello (driver), Kristina D'Andrea (driver), Katie DeFilippo (defensive hole) and co-captains Katie French and Erika Lauraitis (drivers/hole). A couple of up-and-coming players who can have an impact are Emily Orlowski and Amy Ruiz. "We are looking to make it back to the sectional finals this year, and possibly return to the state series," said Newby. "The girls have a goal and I am looking forward to seeing them reach it. We have a tough road ahead to get there, with teams in our sectional - especially Barrington - and if we make it to state series, whomever we might see in the first round."

Hersey coach Meg McIntyre is in her first year with the team, and there are plenty of new faces after 10 seniors graduated last season. The good news is that plenty of the new players have some experience on the District Unified Water Polo team which plays in the summer and winter. The early results for the Huskies have been mixed - victories over Schaumburg, Glenbrook North, Buffalo Grove, Rolling Meadows and St. Viator but losses to powers Fremd and Loyola. The key players appear to be Michelle Lewis (hole), Katie Roznai (goalie), Meg Nolan (defensive hole), Christine Rovani and Caroline Stoklosa (wing/driver), Regan O'Brien and Megan Anderluh (flat), with bench strength coming from Maura Kelly and Ilona Widomska. "The first goal is to win the East, although we expect Prospect and Wheeling to be our toughest rivals," said McIntyre.

Hoffman Estates coach Carrie Koch is counting on three returning seniors, Michelle Allen (point/field), Justine Samek (hole/field) and Katie Simmons (goalie). Joining them in the field on varsity are sophomore Rachael Gallo and junior Sayali Sakhardande. With a JV team that features 33 players, the future is bright for Elk Grove. "We have a huge JV team, so we are still a relatively young team," said Koch. "As a team we really started clicking toward the end of last season. I am hoping the girls pick up where we left off last year, and keep that momentum going."

Palatine coach Brittany Reetz is counting on three senior leaders - co-captains Agnes Wojtas and Courtney Walocha and Courtney Bartz, last year's goalkeeper who is now playing the field. Other key players include junior wings Katy Jo Peters and Katie Brown. Wojtas was an all-conference pick last season and is the team's leading scorer so far this spring. The Pirates were 2-1-4 through their first seven games. Reetz has been pleased with the progress of Brown and Bartz, who is proving to be scoring threat on the wings.

Prospect coach Dick Mortensen returns five of last year's seven starters, including leading scorer Meg Dix (all-conference), starting goalie Giovannina Penze (all-conference) starting hole set defender Megan Phillips, starting offensive hole set Michelle Schueler and wing Molly Nordyke. The key losses from last year were Sarah Sohn and KC Dix, both of whom were all-conference and all-sectional. The Knights won the MSL East in their first two years after the co-op team that had included Prospect and Wheeling split into two teams. Megan Dix is already the program's all-time leading scorer and Penze is a take-control goalkeeper. "I feel that we can compete with any team in the state," said Mortensen. "Whether we can beat them is a different story. I feel like we may struggle with the loss of Sohn and (KC) Dix in the beginning, but we have enough varsity depth to hopefully get things going for division and state play."

St. Viator coach Adam Clementi has watched his team struggle against a very difficult schedule in the early going, but the Lions were rewarded with wins Monday on both the varsity and JV levels against Resurrection. The players to watch for St. Viator are senior drivers Cally Belbin, Maura Dussman and Michelle McKee, plus sophomores Melanie Wood (offensive set) and Stephanie Nolan (goalie). "I hope that we can become more of a physical team," said Clementi, "playing clean but more of a coast-style water polo."

Schaumburg coach Becky Wutz has a program that returns varsity stalwart Nicole Mundie, a returning all-sectional player and reliable goal-scorer. The Saxons went 3-3 overall in their first six games, 2-1 against MSL West competition, and now the team gets an extended break in the schedule before facing Fremd on March 31. The Saxons erupted for 18 goals Friday against Maine South, with 4 goals from Mundie, 4 from Ariel Stahn, 3 from Nicole Clearfield, 2 from Marissa Townsend and 1 from Danielle Kappel, plus an 11-save effort from goalkeeper Jackie Sumsky.

A Wheeling program on the upswing is looking at a very promising season. At No. 23 in the state by the most recent illpolo.com rankings, the Wildcats have three starters returning from last year's successful team: Liseli Biach, Amy Wilson and Christa Khatcherian. The Wildcats are off to a 6-1 overall start and are 3-0 in the Mid-Suburban League, tied with Hersey for the East Division lead. Recent results included a 14-2 nonconference victory over Vernon Hills on Friday.