Girls water polo state tournament
Where: Stevenson High School
When: Quarterfinals at 4:30, 5:45, 7 and 8:15 p.m. Thursday; semifinals Saturday morning and third place/championship games Saturday evening.
Who: Fremd is a repeat state qualifer under coach Brian Newby after a convincing victory in the Barrington sectional Saturday. The Vikings (26-3) are perhaps best known for their swimming skill and potent fastbreak attack led by players such as Erika Lauraitis, Katie French and Megan Kennedy, but that opportunistic offense is keyed by a rock-solid defensive group featuring Katie DeFillipo and Allison McCarthy defending the hole set in front of fearless goalkeeper Kelli DiCanio. "I think we've been doing a great job of team defense," said DiCanio, a senior who has a 4.37 goals-against average, after the Vikes beat Barrington 11-6 in the sectional title game. "Everybody's really been hustling back on defense, denying second shots. We know we're in this together." Lauraitis (60 goals) and McCarthy (59) lead Fremd in scoring and French leads the team in assists (60). Drivers Kristin D'Andrea and Danielle Chemello also play key roles for Fremd.
Fremd faces Lyons (27-3) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the first quarterfinal of the tournament; the Lions essentially went unchallenged in winning their own sectional. Lyons (27-3) is ranked No. 3 by illpolo.com; Fremd is ranked No. 9. The teams have not met this season; the Vikings' only losses have come against Elite Eight qualifiers Loyola (8-6), Stevenson (8-7 in OT) and Naperville Central (13-11). Lyons is led in scoring by Allie Grimes (60 goals) and Kirby Kaptur (54), and Katelyn Jacobs has 85 assists.
Coaching continuity: Newby has been Fremd's only coach since the 2002 season, and he's amassed a career record of 136-54 with three Elite Eight appearances. Susie Murphy has been Lyons' coach since 2000 and has a career record of 164-108. This is Lyons' first time in the Elite Eight.
Scouting: The other quarterfinals Thursday feature, in order, defending champ Fenwick (24-0) against St. Ignatius (22-4), Loyola (23-9) against Stevenson (22-10) and Naperville Central (29-1) against Lincoln-Way East (24-8). Fenwick is ranked No. 1 by illpolo.com.
- Aaron Gabriel