Girls water polo: Dominant Stevenson eyes three-peat

The principal question for the 2025 girls water polo season, as it has been for almost a decade, is simple.

Can anyone slow down Stevenson?

The Patriots have appeared in eight of the last nine state championship games, winning six titles.

The previous two came in 2023 and 2024, so now they’re looking for a three-peat.

“Our ultimate goal is to be playing on the last weekend of the season,” said Patriots coach Jeff Wimer. “We return a very good core from last year’s team and have added some talented young athletes. I’m looking forward to see how they grow throughout the season.”

Top players for Stevenson will be seniors Jill Carlson (defender) and Victoria Duncan (attacker), and juniors Olivia Spieth (attacker) and Elsa Kusevskis (goalie).

“Olivia is a very experienced, seasoned player,” said Wimer, “and Elsa was our starting goalie last year and brings more experience this year.”

The coach added that Carlson and Duncan were also starters in 2024, both on attack.

Standing in Stevenson’s way this season could be Naperville North, state titleists in 2021 and 2022.

The Huskies will be counting on senior captain Payton Schrier, who will play D1 water polo at Loyola Marymount University in California in the fall.

“Her strength, leadership, and expertise will be instrumental to our success this year,” said Naperville North coach Andy McWhirter of Schrier.

Other standouts for the Huskies in 2025 will include another captain, senior Ria Vaid (a senior defender), Rugie Stackevicius (a junior goalkeeper), and junior attackers Molly Depies and Cate Czochara.

Crosstown rival Naperville Central could also be a strong contender. The key players for the Redhawks will be Kaylee Shiffer, a senior center, and classmate Eleni Nicoloudes, a goalie.

Naperville Central coach Haley Green said her squad is very excited about the upcoming campaign.

“We have a great mix of returning players and some younger athletes,” said Green. “Our focus will be on building team chemistry, improving our play, and continuing to work hard.

“We’re looking forward to a fun and competitive season. The players have been putting in a lot of effort and we’re excited to see their hard work pay off. We appreciate the support for our school and community, and we can’t wait to get started.”

For Prospect, Dick Mortensen will return to coach the Knights. His overall coaching record is 247-209-3, and he was the first coach for the Prospect girls between 2007-2011.

“We’re extremely excited to get going,” said Mortensen. “We have expectations to compete for the (Mid-Suburban) East, and be competitive in conference. It’ll be a season-long process as they work to learn my systems. We hope to be peaking come sectional time.”

Leading the charge for the Knights will be Sasha Martschenko (senior utility, 70 goals in 2024); Julia Rarau (senior goalie, 254 saves last season), and Olivia Schiller (senior utility).

“Sasha is a tireless worker and a student of the game,” added Mortensen, “Julia as a goalie has all the tools to keep us in every game, and Olivia is a tenacious defender that doesn’t shy away from a challenge.”

MSL schools Fremd and Hersey should also be in the running for trophies at the end of the year.

The Vikings go into action with veteran competitors Reese Winegar, Caterina Gaido and Elly Jo Fay, who was all-conference, all-sectional and all state third team last year.

“Elly Jo is an offensive threat from any location in the pool,” said Fremd coach Theresa Knowles, “Reese is someone who can fill any role and guard anyone, and Cat is someone who has improved greatly in her game knowledge and offensive skills.”

Hersey’s coach Megan Brownley said senior captain Andrea Teves is one of the area’s premier defenders. Melissa Loch, Coco Schulz and Emily Steinberg are also key returnees.

Brownley added that Loch will be “looking to build on her success in 2024 -- she was all-conference, first team all-sectional, and fourth team all-state.

Schultz, a goalie is “dedicated to mastering her position and refining her skills,” according to her coach who said that Steinberg’s “game IQ speed and agility make her a formidable opponent on offense and defense.”

Maine West should be a factor in the upcoming season. The Warriors, though, are looking for some younger players to step up after some heavy losses to graduation.

Lauren Capper, a junior standout and a member of the Olympic Development program, does return for the Warriors, as does sophomore Nicole Kaner.

“Our top competition is going to be the next team we play,” said Maine West coach Drew Schneider. “Being so young, we need to focus on the game at hand.”

Libertyville coach Tracy Balla says that her team has a “very positive outlook” on the upcoming task at hand.

“We only graduated one starter from last year’s roster,” said Balla, “and we have made a couple of strong additions to our team.

“Our all-state goalie, Ellie Shafer, is returning for her senior year. She’s talented, but is also a great director of the team’s defense.”

Other count-ons for Balla will be Maya Anderson, who set the Libertyville record for assists last season; Kaitlyn Galloway, a point/defensive center; Payton Howard, who plays offensive set; and juniors Leah Simpson and Ciara Simpson.

“We’re looking forward to a fun season,” added Balla.

Additional squads that coaches are talking about as contenders include Metea Valley, Schaumburg, Barrington, York, New Trier, Lyons, Evanston, Lincoln Way East, and Sandburg.

Conant is another combatant that could excel this year. Coach Justin Bickus fields a brigade that includes senior Nora Bestor (utility/driver), who has plenty of experiene including two junior Olympic trips and nearly 90 varsity contests competed in. The Cougars in addition will rely on up-and-coming players such as junior goalie Kaya Rudzinski, who Bickus says "is a tough kid who works hard and holds herself to high expectations", and freshman Natalie Wong.

"We need to be meshing as a team, learning, and building on each practice and game," said Bickus.

A wild card for the 2025 season will be Fenwick. The Friars boast the most state championships in Illinois girls water polo history with nine, but they haven’t won one since 2016.

This year, however, Jack Wagner, author of those nine titles, returns from a four-year retirement to take the reins again as head coach.

“My focus is on teaching the girls how I would like us to play,” said Wagner. “I don’t have any expectations for wins or losses, just learning how to play together.

“As the season progresses, I’m sure that we will develop some team chemistry and then we can think about winning and losing.”