 "Photo: Phoenix/Nathan Lurz")
 "Photo: Phoenix/Nathan Lurz")
 "Photo: Phoenix/Nathan Lurz")
The age old saying, “girls rule, boys drool,” may have different meanings, but one particular club on campus takes this cliché to a whole new level when they practice alongside the boys regularly and definitely prove themselves worthy of ruling. This group of girls takes the art of swimming, adds a ball, some caps and a net and turns it into the rugged, aggressive, competitive sport known as water polo.
Founded in January 2008 by current members seniors Amy Jackson, Sheila O’Connor and alumna Allie al-Sehaim, this recently-formed club has already shown both the boys and the school how serious they are about water polo.
“It took two years for Loyola to let us have a club,” said senior player Sheila O’Connor, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to come out strong in their first year.
“Our first tournament was just a motley crew. We had girls who had never played before, girls who had never swam and we were playing girls that were on real teams like Ohio State, Northwestern, etc., and although we had our butts handed to us that day, we had a blast together,” said O’Connor.
But this didn’t stop the girls from moving forward. Just last year they came in second place during their tournament at Fenwick High School in Oak Park that featured clubs from all over the Midwest as well as senior women’s teams.
Winning is just a minor benefit when playing with this group of girls; it’s about developing friendships. Freshman McKenzie Silvestros played water polo all four years of high school and was a bit disappointed at first when she thought Loyola didn’t have a team.
One night, she decided to swim at Halas because she missed her water polo exercises. While at the pool, O’Connor was lifeguarding and noticed Silvestro’s ability and encouraged her to join the team.
“I got to stay and practice with the boys for the first time, and I was so intimidated by them at first. But I am such good friends with all of them now, and I am also on the E-board. I know that I would have never met any of these people if I didn’t join and I’m glad I did,” Silvestros said.
Well into their third season, they are still gaining members who love to swim or play water polo. Many of the members expressed that water polo helped them form friendships with an array of new people.
Sophomore Ksenia Chernova said she has two obligations: water polo and pre-med homework.
“Being a pre-med student, my homework load is pretty heavy, but the club never puts pressure on me to get to practice every week. They always say that classwork comes first and then water polo. The flexibility makes it so much easier,” Chernova said.
The girls will be playing in several tournaments this semester, including the IHSA Official’s Training Tournament at Fenwich High School from Feb. 12 to Feb. 14. Then on Feb. 27 to Feb. 28 at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign Tournament, April 10 at Carthage College and April 17 at Wheaton College.
The girls practice Monday through Thursday from 10 — 11 p.m. at Halas Pool.
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