Water polo no solo effort

See an interactive graphic about water polo basics here.

They have had the best conference record of any sports team at Penn for the last four years. They have defeated the likes of Duke and North Carolina. And no, it's not the Penn Fencing, W. Squash or W. Lax teams.

Instead, over the past four years, the Penn women's club water polo team has compiled a spotless Mid-Atlantic Conference record of 45-0.

The Quakers have gone to the Women's National Collegiate Club Championship four years in a row and have continued to place higher every year - finishing fifth in the nation in 2008.

During their Mid-Atlantic Division Championship run earlier this month, the Quakers posted impressive victories over fourth-seeded Pittsburgh, 18-1, and second-seeded Virginia, 9-6.

The Quakers are now the No. 5 seed in the 2009 Women's National Collegiate Club Championship due to their performance in last year's tournament. They'll compete early next month and hope to defeat powerhouses such as No. 1 California Polytechnic State and No. 2 Oregon.

These are pretty big feats for a team that is mostly comprised of women who had no water polo experience prior to enrolling at Penn (although they all swam in high school), according to junior co-captain Elizabeth Lawrence.

The Quakers have continued to add new weapons - both undergraduate and graduate students - which has in turn produced winning results and made them one of the most feared teams in the division.

This year, volunteer coach and senior Ben Naecker has been pleased with his two new "offensive weapons," freshman Kathryn Nary and sophomore Winnie Eastwood, whom he says "have added a lot of depth" to the offense.

Naecker - who has "been throwing the ball around since [he] was 12 or 13" - brings tremendous experience to the coaching position. The California native began to play water polo competitively in ninth grade and has continued to play at Penn where he has served as the men's water polo captain for the past two seasons.

Naecker also highlighted the importance of graduate student Sheena Curtin, who serves as the team's hole set - the offensive player nearest the goal - and directs the offense much like a point guard would in basketball. According to Naecker, "everyone in the water polo world knows about" Curtin, who starred at Occidental College during her undergraduate years and has been named everything from MVP of her varsity team in 2006 to Division-III All-American in 2005.

But the most satisfying characteristic for the Quakers, according to senior Rosemary Lelich, is that although there are a number of very talented women on the team "there is not just one person who is responsible for our success."

Lelich also stressed that in club sports the success of the team depends on the dedication of its captains as they are responsible for organizing and scheduling the team's season and practice.

Lawrence, who has played water polo at Penn for the last three years, is not only responsible for providing leadership and organizing tournament trips, but also for directing the Quakers defense. In water polo, the goalie must be both versatile and agile, with a strong core and the ability to explode out of the water and maintain balance in mid-air to block shot attempts.

As Lawrence leads Penn into Nationals, the Quakers know that they must be mindful not to look ahead of their weaker opponents.

"We play NYU in the first game and we actually feel good about that because we have played them in the past," Lelich said. "We definitely have a strong team with a deep bench and more than six girls who can start and be competitive in the water."

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