Kerry Goodspeed & Lindsay Fraser
Senior Kerry Goodspeed and junior Lindsay Fraser played in the 2013 Junior Olympic Water Polo Tournament held in Orange County, Calif. Fraser played for North Beach water polo, while Goodspeed played for Northern Illinois Polo Club.
After competing in a qualifier round, Goodspeed and Fraser’s teams were placed in separate divisions. Goodspeed’s team finished 18th in its division while Fraser’s finished fourth.
Goodspeed’s favorite game of the tournament was against a team from Bakersfield, Calif.
“[The other coach turned] to his team and goes, ‘Alright it’s time to show Chicago water polo what’s up,’” Goodspeed said.
Goodspeed’s team won the game.
“It was a good feeling because a lot of people look down on Midwest water polo, especially in California,” Goodspeed said.
Goodspeed intends to play with Fraser at North Beach Water Polo during the winter.
“I love playing with Lindsay,” said Goodspeed. “It’s really exciting to see someone else as excited about water polo as I am.”
Nick Hardy
In the span of a summer, senior Nick Hardy tied a course record, won an American Junior Golf Association tournament and even had his name mentioned in an issue of Sports Illustrated.
Hardy, who is committed to play golf at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also held the first round lead at the U.S. Amateur Championship. Out of a field of over 300 players, Hardy would end up falling in the match play round of 64.
Despite playing on national television at what is widely regarded to be the most prestigious amateur golf tournament in the nation, Hardy said he had no nerves.
However, golfing with former professional athlete Michael Jordan in June was a different story.
“[I was] way more nervous [against Jordan],” said Hardy, who lost by eight strokes to the six-time basketball champion. “It’s a completely different atmosphere. I’m in my comfort zone when I’m just playing against someone else, but playing with Michael Jordan, the best competitor of all time, really gets me going.”
Erin Oliphant
When sophomore Erin Oliphant arrived in Minneapolis, Minn. this past July to compete in the 2013 Speedo Championship Series, she swam faster than she ever had in competition.
Posting a time of 2:37:07 in the 200 meter breaststroke Oliphant qualified to compete in the 2013 USA Swimming Junior National Championships this past Aug. 5-7 held in Irvine, Calif. Oliphant placed 32nd out of a total 131 swimmers for the event.
Her qualifying time from Minn. also gives her a chance to compete in the 2013 U.S. National Championships scheduled to take place at the University of Tennessee this December.
“I had to double check to make sure that was my time,” said Oliphant. “I thought I was going to be maybe a 10th [of a second] within the time [of the cut], so when I was two and a half seconds under it, I was ecstatic.”
Oliphant’s school swim season is in full bloom but she hasn’t forgotten about her next challenge. She hopes to shed two seconds off her 200 meter breaststroke time before heading to Tennessee later this year.