Rookies Find Place In and Out of the Water

March Madness is in full swing for freshmen this week, as “friends” show their true colors, unsuspecting victims are thrown out of blocking groups, and a general sense of drama ensues.

For the six freshmen of the women’s water polo team—a group that deals with conflict in the pool on a regular basis—there will be no tension come blocking day.

Sitting around a dining hall table in Eliot House, the six girls shake their head in unison at the possibility of blocking together.

“We don’t want to add roommate drama to the team dynamic,” mentions Monica Zdrojewski, who has 14 goals on the year.

“I’d say we already spend a big chunk of our time with each other,” adds goalkeeper Laurel McCarthy, who has recorded 10 saves in a backup role thus far.

In addition to dining together almost every day, the girls even occasionally have movie nights together.

Zdrojewski, Devan Kennifer, Lizzie Abbott, and Shannon Purcell all hail from California, and although the future teammates did not get to know each other back in high school, they and fellow freshman Ita Barton-Kettleborough would finally formally meet one another at a reception on move-in day in September.

“We all got along instantly,” says Purcell, who has 10 goals on the season.

Although McCarthy missed out on the reception, as well as the California heritage, she quickly found her place in the group.

Water polo represents a “family trait” for all five Americans, as each has either a father or an older sister passing on the genes.

Conversely, Barton-Kettleborough, named Northern Division Rookie of the Week on Feb. 24, comes to Harvard from Manchester, England, and decided to take up the sport after seeing it played for the first time at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in her home city.

The teammates are also quite similar in their reasons for attending Harvard. They cite the unique opportunity to play for assistant coach and former Olympian Ellen Estes Lee, who led the US to a silver and bronze medal in Sydney and Athens, respectively.

In addition to the coaching staff, the rookies were deeply impressed with the team’s affability on their recruiting trips.

“[The upperclassmen] made an effort to do a lot of things together as a team and get to know them very well,” co-captain Devon McLaughlin says.

This feeling carried over to the fall, as the experienced upperclassmen have become mentors to the freshmen.

“The upperclassmen have been great big sisters to this bunch,” Harvard coach Erik Farrar says.

The six freshmen have constantly been able to seek advice from their eight veteran teammates regarding both the sport and college life in general.

“The knowledge of the upperclassmen is so useful,” McCarthy remarks as her teammates adamantly concur.

“Any problem you have, one of them has gone through the same thing,” adds Abbott, who has six scores this year.

The team’s blossoming friendships away from the pool have impacted the group’s performance in the pool.

“Your personality outside of the water also corresponds to the way you play,” Zdrojewski says.

When Farrar posted the starting lineup two days before the opening match, the girls were shocked to see five of their names in the starting seven.

The rookies were also quick to note that playing on Farrar’s team does not reflect any hierarchy, but rather a tactic used to get an advantage on the opponent.

“I think [Farrar] is going for shock and awe,” Kennifer suggests. “The other teams haven’t seen us much…so they can’t prepare as much.”

While Kennifer may currently be an unknown freshman, teams will begin to notice her if she continues her impressive offensive numbers.

Kennifer has tallied 31 goals in her first 11 games.

“It’s definitely awesome to find out that you’re going to start the game, but at the same time, I got so much more nervous and felt so much more pressure,” Zdrojewski remarks.

“At the same time you felt a little bit of confidence as well, because your coach and the team had confidence in you,” Barton-Kettleborough adds. “It’s like a double edged sword,” she concludes, as Abbott chimes in simultaneously on the final word.

The freshman girls look forward to building upon their teamwork and skills in their future seasons together.

“I’m really looking forward to just being on the team with you guys for the next four years,” Barton-Kettleborough says sentimentally to her teammates.

Despite blocking separately, the girls sit around the table knowing their friendship will remain strong, as their practices, nightly dinners, and team trips will allow them to spend plenty of time together when they are not all living together in the Yard.