The spring sports season is upon us and that means season previews! Today we take a look at girls water polo
Note: All coaches were contacted multiple times for this exercise. Those responses are listed below. Don’t see your school? Contact Michael Wojtychiw (mmwojtychiw@cps.edu) for more information.
School name: CBMK CO-OP (Curie, Back of the Yards Mansueto & Kelly)
Last year’s record: 8-6 (5th in the CPL Championship 4th in IHSA Sectionals)
Starters returning: Co-Captain Valeria Pintor (12th) (Flat)
Co-Captain Emily Medina (11th) (Wing)
Miledi Contreras (!2th) (Shallow Goalie)
Bryanna Zhang (10th)(Wing)
Yaretzi Avila (10th) (point)
Key non-starters returning: Jenny Carrasco (11th) (Wing)
Valeria Cantero (10th) (Wing)
Key newcomers: Co-Captain Adriana Garcia (12th) (Hole Set)
Aaliyah Grandberry (12th) (Hole Set) (Flat)
Ana Perez-Acuna (10th) (Wing)
Daniela Cortes (9th) (Flat)
Isabel Murrillo (9th) (Deep end goalie) (Flat)
Big games/matchups:
CBMK vs Lindblom Wednesday April 3 6pm Location: Back of the Yards College Prep
Coach Vergara and Coach Hayes teams have been going against each other for the past 9 yrs, their teams always give an excellent game and it has become a Classic Southside Rivalry for Girls Water Polo.
Coach’s season outlook:
Look to continue and have the same success as last year finishing in the top 5 and hoping to reach a CPL semi-final/final. For Sectionals finishing in the top 4 and making the semifinals for the second time in a row.
School name: Solorio/Hubbard
Last year’s record: 7-3
Starters returning (name, position):
Jimena Diaz- Hole Set
Jacqueline Martinez- Goalie
Destiny Lopez-Driver
Lucia Bobadilla-Wing
Fatima Luna-Wing
Jazel Cazares-Wing
Emily Vallejo-Driver
Paulina Briones-Goalie
Coach’s season outlook: We plan to win the conference this year again, and make the playoffs one more time. Only this time making it to at least top 4 teams in our girls CPL league.
School name: Jones-Payton
Last year’s record: 25-2
Starters returning (name, position, year in school, stats/honors):
Lilly Gunn, Goalkeeper, Senior, 2023 All State, All Sectional 1st Team
Morgan Butney, Utility, Senior
Nita Thaci, Center, Senior, All Sectional 2nd Team
Brenna Perrine, Attacker, Senior
Mya Garcia, Utility, Junior, 2023 All Sectional 1st Team
Jade Bonaparte, Utility, Junior
Key non-starters returning (name, position, year in school):
Nadia Williams, Goalkeeper, Sophomore
Reilly Martin, Attacker, Junior
Nostalgia Williams, Center, Senior
Key newcomers:
Rio Wojkiewicz, Goalkeeper
Georgia Motykowski, Utility
Alex Welch, Attacker
Big games/matchups:
03/21 vs Curie
04/03 vs Whitney Young
04/10 vs Lane Tech
04/16 vs Evanston
04/30 vs York
Coach’s season outlook:
After winning the 2023 CPS City Championship and runner up in Sectionals, Jones-Payton looks to get back to winning ways by relying on senior leadership along with blending in younger players who gained valuable experience last season and offseason.
School Name: Kenwood Academy High School
Key Returnees (name, year in school, position):
Angela Shoffner, Senior, Utility Player
Lynnette Williams, Sophomore, Utility Player-Defense
Sarah Abdullah, Junior, Utility Player
Constance Snow, Senior, Utility Player
Miranda Dunford, Senior, Deep Goalie
Erin Burbridge, Junior, Goalie
Kennedi Walker, Sophomore, Utility Player
Pilar Rodriguez, Junior, Utility Player
Key non-starters returning (name, year in school, position):
Enderlis Navarro, Freshman, Utility player-deep goalie
Hillary Bolivar, Junior, Utility Player
Key newcomers (name, year in school):
Soleil DuPart, Senior, Utility Player
Yohana Navarro, Freshman, Utility Player
Coach’s Season Outlook:
We are excited to begin our season with a lot of veteran talent, most of the girls can play multiple positions! With a strong roster of returners, seniors, juniors and sophomores. Our team continues to grow as we build our program and work hard and strive for success.
School name: Lane Tech College Prep
Last year’s record: 18 Wins – 10 Loss
Social media handle: @ltwapo
Starters returning (name, position, year in school, stats):
Lily Manning, Goalie (Captain), Senior, 113 Saves in 2023
Andriana Shoorgot, Field, Junior
Georgia Fournier, Field, Junior
Morgan Larvick, Field, Junior
Avalon Altamirano, Field, Junior
Emilie Chin, Field, Junior
Lydia Palilonis, Field, Sophomore
Key non-starters returning (name, position, year in school):
Anduena Kraja, Goalie, Junior
Elizabeth Martin, Field, Junior
Isabella Johnson, Field, Senior
Key newcomers:
Eleni Murray, Field, Freshman
Samantha Moya, Field, Freshman
Sofia Moya, Goalie, Freshman
Big games/matchups:
LT V Jones/Payton
Coach’s season outlook:
Excited for a promising season ahead filled with lots of goals and good vibes!
School name: Prosser HS
Starters returning (name, year in school):
Alyson Ospina, Senior
Yarisbel Vázquez, Senior
Mia Aguilar, Senior
Aida Guadarrama, Senior
Martha Otero, Junior
Danisa Aguirre Cazares, Junior
Nicole Stefanek, Junior
Beverly Torres, Sophomore
Key non-starters returning (name, year in school):
Ashley Diaz, Junior
Karla Carpio, Senior
Aidalys Bracho, Sophomore
Coach’s season outlook:
Looking forward to a season in which girls learn water polo skills, positions and have a positive experience. Creating a sense of a home and camaraderie Is our mission
School: Senn/Roosevelt
Starters returning:
Valeria Barron, Tuesday Plahutnik, Esmerelda Lopoez, Jocelin Andrade, Lila Hughes, Liliana Whipple, Aidan Lai
Key newcomers:
Rubi Andrade, Hannah Fabino, Rosemary Bardales
Coach’s season outlook:
This is a rebuliding year, we lost 6 seniors last year. So far they have fulfilled the rebuliding mission and have shown improvement at every game. As always we need to teach the girls to be more aggressive
School name: Taft HS
Last year’s record: 12-8
Starters returning (name, year in school):
Lilian Martin – Senior
Weronika Urbanek – Senior
Denise Villa – Junior
Mary Connolly – Junior
Anwen Grant – Junior
Luna Lopez – Sophomore
Key non-starters returning (name, year in school):
Savannah Storr – Senior
Magdalena Tomaszewski – Senior
Molly Dolin – Junior
Key newcomers:
Anahi Torres – Freshman
Stamatia Kaloudis – Freshman
Sophia Copeland – Freshman
Coach’s season outlook: Looking forward to another great season with more competitions scheduled in all deep pools. We hope to win our conference again this year (North) and add some wins against teams in the CPS gold conference.
