Scouting Northwest girls water polo

Barrington: Coach Mark Markwell has a team that's long on ability but short on experience after graduating a group that finished 20-7 and made the sectional final featuring standouts Chelsea Simon, Megan Clampitt and Jill Nagle, among others. "We are a young team with a lot of last year's JV players moving up to the varsity," Markwell said. "Our goals are to be competitive and work hard. We have some strong leadership with our seniors and good support from the rest of the team." The key figures this season ought to be Yessica Buenrostro, Callie Conners, Emily Fogle, Brooke Fanslow, Chloe Padula, Julie Rometty and Victoria Waring.

Buffalo Grove: Coach Shayna Mortensen is encouraged by the talent level on her team, which was in the thick of the MSL East race last season. The key players will be Angela Rodriguez, Nicky Delaney, Kate Emerson, Sarah Fasching and Kristin Muller. "We are a young team with tons of potential," Mortensen said. "We are looking to put it all together and get some wins."

Conant: Coach Justin Bickus had high hopes for this season, and the early results confirm his optimism. The Cougars were 6-2 through their first eight games and won the first invitational they've hosted. The key returners for Conant are Hannah Duke, Liz Ernst, Andrea Cobb, Katie Varga, Kristi Burke, Leslie Wiesen, Jessica Southern, Kinga Wolska, Lucie Banahan and Mabel Nevel. "We knew coming into this year we had a chance to be competitive," Bickus said. "Coming off of a re-building year of sorts we are just that: re-built. All the girls have stepped up and have taken their play to new levels. We're learning to adjust, correcting mistakes, and staying positive. Hopefully we surprise a few teams."

Elk Grove: Coach Kristen Kopf has several players who committed to polo in the high school off-season and is eager to see how that translates this spring. Keys to success for the Grens will be the play of juniors Jordan Crocker, Krissy Soriano and Erika Bauer and senior Danielle Phillips.

Fremd: Coach Brian Newby's group won the Mid-Suburban League title, the Barrington sectional and went on to surprise some by finishing third in the state tournament by edging Loyola 10-9 at Stevenson. There certainly are players from that team who will be sorely missed, but many of the best are back, including senior all-stater Erika Lauraitis. Others who saw varsity time include Kristina D'Andrea, Megan Kennedy, Emily Orlowski, Sam DelPrado, Sam Matuszewski, Sam Kirby, Haley Shoaf and Julie Conrath. And Newby likes the potential of players such as Erika Wickstrom, Emily McCarthy, Nikki DiCanio and Lauren Zambelli. "We are hoping to make a three-time return trip to the MSL conference title game and also win a sectional title, which would give us our third state playoff birth. We would also love to bring home another trophy, but as we all know we have to start at the beginning again and earn our way to that position. The girls are continuing with the team focus and determination set by last year's team. They understand the importance of working together to obtain that goal of returning to Lincolnshire. I guess you can say we are on a mission to return."

Hersey: Coach Megan McIntyre's team finished 23-7 last spring, tying the program's best finish. The Huskies lost just two seniors from that team and hope they can compete for the East title with players such as Christine Rovani, Megan Nolan, Ilona Widomska and Maura Kelly. "Most of the girls played water polo this winter and are prepared to play well against some of our tough competition," McIntyre said.

Palatine: Coach Brittany Berleman will count on quality returning players such as Katie Brown (offensive hole), Katy Jo Peters (defensive hole), Paige Wainwright (wing) and Cyndi Bergloff (flat). The Pirates' challenge is to overcome the loss of all-sectional pick Agnes Wojtas and several other contributors who have graduated. "This should be an exciting year for the Pirates," Berleman said. "Out of our 26 girls, only 10 of them have previous experience playing water polo, but our seniors are a group of excellent leaders. The girls season last year was a vast improvement from the previous year and we hope to build off that and develop our team even further."

Prospect: Coach Dick Mortensen's squad finished second in the MSL East last season and figures to be a player in race for the title this spring. Returning from the 16-10 team of a year ago are junior Meg Dix (101 goals last year, 179 in her career), as well as senior Kelly Wilson (15 goals last year) and junior Tori Shields; Kylie Mueller takes over for standout goalkeeper Giovannina Penze. "This team has the highest water polo IQ of any team that I have coached," Mortensen said. "They went to camps and played in the off-season, which made them stronger."

Rolling Meadows: Coach Hal Fine is emphasizing better team balance, including being more aggressive defensively and more precise offensively. He'll be counting on returning players such has Lauren Checchin, Amber Beasley, Emily Lebuhn and Alison Filippelli. "We are also working to be more competitive with the top teams in our conference which will be a tough challenge," said Fine, "but one that we feel we are capable of doing."

Schamburg: First-year coach Beth Donatucci is excited about the potential for her team. Swimming standout Sammy Schuckles opted not to play last season but is back with the team this spring. "She's clearly a very strong defensive player," said Donatucci. "She'll make a difference for us." Key returners include Corrine Trujillo, Addie Ries and Rebecca Brow as well as goalie Jackie Sumsky.

St. Viator: Coach Adam Clementi's team had a strong showing Thursday against Libertyville, turning in a 10-6 victory behind 4 goals from Alli Lardner. Goalie Stephanie Nolan had 15 saves, and the Lions also got goals from Eileen Mallof, Megan Shover, Madeline Wimberly and Melanie Battaglia. "When the girls play with their heads, stick with our game plan, and don't let the other team dictate our offense, we have many opportunities to capitalize on the opportunities our speed can create," said Clementi. "I am really proud of the way the girls executed all that we have been working on."

Wheeling: The defending MSL East champs lost several top-notch players, including all-sectional pick Liseli Baich, but there's a wealth of talent returning, including Amy Wilson, Christa Khatcherian, Emily Sullivan and goalie Kaitlyn Webb. Coach Bob Savitt's team was competitive all last season against some of the best competition in the state, a pattern which figures to hold true again this spring.