The Trials and Tribulations of Girls Varsity Water Polo

On April 5th, the Girls Varsity Water Polo team emerged victorious in their home game against Greenwich Academy with a 14-13 win. This marked the team’s second-ever victory against Greenwich, their first being an 18-17 win last year. This year, the team is led by Head Coach and Director of Academic Support Jaclyn DeLuca, Assistant Coaches Thomas Gaughan and Mark Scandling, and senior captains Abby Tang ’25 and Jazmine Bigornia ’25.

With only eleven players, “the season has been a mix of challenges and rewards, which I think is true of every water polo season,” Ms. DeLuca said. “On the reward end, we have excellent team leaders in Jazmine and Abby, who bring a lot of spirit and game knowledge, and support for our younger and newer players. On the challenge end, we are a small team this year; we knew that from the beginning.”

Last year, the Girls Water Polo team ended their season with a winning record of 10-5. “Deerfield has always been quite competitive in the NEPSAC [New England Preparatory School Athletic Council] league, but this year is definitely a ‘rebuilding’ year,” said Tang. The team graduated six seniors last year—over a third of the team—and almost all of them were part of the starting lineup. “It was to be expected that we would face some struggles this year as we worked on filling in those gaps,” Bigornia said.

The girls also dealt with a series of injured players, including Bigornia and Hanks. “We only have eight people who can play right now,” Hanks said. However, the injured players found new ways to support their teammates. “Learning to find ways to support the team while not being there physically was something I was not ready for at first,” said Bigornia. Although she is still recovering from her concussion, she has found that “checking in on the girls when I can and getting to have more personal conversations with them outside of the pool has definitely helped with our bonds.”

Despite losing some of their starters, the rest of the team took on new responsibilities. Tang and Gage Calhoun ’27 “have switched on and off in goal,” said Tang, “which was and still is quite new to us but it’s something we both don’t mind doing and also something we would do to show up for the team,” Tang said. “As a team, I’ve really noticed that no matter what, we show up for each other.”

However, Ms. DeLuca noted that “for some of our newer and younger players, they’ve had to learn a lot very quickly because they’ve been stepping in for some of our players who are unable to play. Melody Zhao ’26 and Jewel Suh ’28, for example, are learning on the fly and they’re playing a tremendous number of minutes, and that’s every one of our games.”

The players described how the team’s challenges tightened their bonds. “No matter how we’re doing stats-wise, we’re all there for each other and support one another throughout everything,” Bigornia said. “It’s fun to be on a team sport,” Hanks added. “We’re also very chill in the sense that even if you mess up, it’s not your fault.”

The managers, too, are part of the family, Tang emphasized. “[T]hey always train with us during practice and push us to be better,” she said.

The Girls Water Polo team has their next home game against the Hopkins School on April 25. Ms. DeLuca noted that the team is appreciative of all Deerfield spectators who show up to games. “I’m extremely grateful for the support, even if it’s only one person,” Bigornia said.