Girls water polo: Stevenson, Naperville North pass test vs. Michigan's best
Former figure skater Katie Delaney's transition from Salchow jumps on rinks to saves in pools has gone swimmingly.
Stevenson's top-notch water polo goalie decided to hang up her skates before high school.
"They're in the garage," the senior said at Saturday's Stevenson Classic in Lincolnshire.
Patriots girls water polo coach Jeff Wimer, for one, is beyond thrilled that his third-year varsity keeper had opted to let her blades rust near an automobile and a few gardening tools.
"Katie is the best goalie in the Midwest in my opinion," said Wimer, whose crew - ranked No. 1 in the state by illpolo.com - went 3-1 at the two-day Classic, which featured four squads from Illinois and four from Michigan.
"She's super athletic, with cat-quick reflexes, super-strong legs and the ability to move well laterally," Stevenson's four-time state champion coach added. "I also like her composure. Nothing rattles Katie."
Delaney, who averaged 9 saves per game - including 12 stops versus Hudsonville (Mich.) - recently committed to play water polo at the University of Michigan.
"I'll likely be a teammate with some of the players we faced this weekend," she said.
Reigning state runner-up Stevenson (18-1) lost 6-5 in overtime to reigning Michigan state champion Hudsonville (3-1 in Classic action) on Friday. The Pats defeated Rockford (Mich.) 13-5 Friday and then downed Grandville (Mich.) 16-3 and East Grand Rapids (Mich.) 5-3 on Saturday.
Reigning two-time state champion Naperville North - ranked second in the state by illpolo.com - also went 3-1 in the Prairie State vs. Wolverine State invite and improved to 19-2-1 overall. Huskies freshman goalie Rugie Stackevicius, who plays her position with a striking combination of joy and tenacity, stood out in Naperville North's 6-2 defeat of East Grand Rapids in its Classic finale Saturday afternoon.
"There's always some concern with freshmen and other first-year varsity players," Huskies coach Andy McWhirter said. "You wonder, 'How long will it take for them to find their role and to feel comfortable?' It's like dancing in a way, because you're looking to get the choreography of a team right during games.
"Rugie and our other young players are coming together as a team."
Naperville North, paced by junior and 2022 Illinois Water Polo Player of the Year Kelsey Wessel, outscored three opponents by a combined 33-10 after falling 5-4 to Hudsonville in its Classic opener on Friday. Senior Sophie Raquel struck for a team-high 3 goals in NN's 9-5 win over Rockford on Friday.
"She's committed to the sport and a student of the sport," McWhirter said of Wessel, who poured in 3 goals, including the first 2, in the 6-2 defeat of East Grand Rapids.
Naperville Central played three of its four Classic games on a grueling Saturday. The Redhawks (13-5) notched their lone Classic victory on Friday, when they routed Grandville 14-1 behind 4 goals from senior Allie Guccione and 3 apiece from senior Juliana Russo and junior Bernadette Albright.
Russo tossed in 3 second-half goals in NC's 9-4 loss to Rockford on Saturday afternoon.
"We want to face tough competition," Naperville Central coach Jeff Plackett said. "We're never interested in putting together a schedule that will make us feel comfortable for most of the season. Do that and you'll never grow as a team."
Wimer's team is packed with experience, speed and quickness once again.
"We're also very aggressive defensively," said Wimer, who noted freshman Olivia Spieth, among the top Patriots in scoring, leads the team in steals. "And defense leads to offense."
Stevenson sophomore Victoria Duncan, one of at least five Patriot reserves with starter talent, led a balanced attack with 3 goals in the Pats' 13-5 defeat of Rockford. Spieth, senior Becca Stone and junior utility Sophia Berger each scored 2. Spieth found the cage 5 times versus Grandville.
"We don't have one superstar (on offense), which is a good thing," Berger said. "But, looking back on how we played this weekend, we still need to work on some things."
Wimer lauded Duncan and other indispensable bench players - Jillian Carlson, Emily Headley, Sophia Brown and Caroline Rutcosky - ahead of Stevenson's finale Saturday.
"We're deep," the former Skokie firefighter said.
Late goals from senior Belle Cloeter and Stone - separated by only 39 seconds in the fourth quarter - expanded Stevenson's lead over East Grand Rapids to 5-2.
"That allowed us to control the clock and use time management," said Wimer, who will get to guide his Patriots at a two-day tourney next weekend in ... Michigan.
"What I want to see us do, from here on out, is make sooner decisions on our shots."
The fourth team that represented Illinois, Evanston, went 2-2 but stunned Hudsonville 8-5 on Saturday. Evanston is ranked 10th in Illinois; Hudsonville is ranked No. 1 in Michigan.
The overall head-to-head battle ended up 9-7 in Illinois' favor.