By BUTCH HARMON
Graduation hit the Okemos girls water polo team hard last June, but one of the premier water polo players in the state does return, so the Chieftains are more retooling than rebuilding.
That returning player is junior Katie Dudley, and thanks to her, the team has not skipped a beat this spring. The Chieftains, who played Rockford for the state title last season, are currently ranked third in the state behind Rockford and Ann Arbor Huron. Dudley is key to the success of the team. Last year, she scored over 130 goals and won almost every award available. Along with being the state MVP and MVP of the state tournament, she was first-team all-state, MVP of the regional tournament, and a first-team all-American selection.
“She does pretty much everything,” coach Matt Latham said. “She led our team with over 130 goals, but she also does a very good job of getting everyone else involved. She is the least selfish player I have coached. She does a great job of making her teammates better. It’s not uncommon for other teams to put three or four defenders on her to slow her down.”
Water polo runs in the family for Dudley, whose older sister Lauren currently plays for the University of Michigan. While Dudley is being recruited by Michigan, she is also looking to be recruited by other schools.
“Katie goes to California to train in the summer, where water polo is a bigger sport,” Latham said. “She really wants to play Division 1 college water polo out west.”
For the next two seasons, Dudley’s main focus will be on getting Okemos back to the state title game. It won the state title in 2010 and 2011, and in 2012 was state runnerup.
While Dudley is a key returnee for the Chieftains, she will have plenty of help. Senior Marie Marsh, a utility player, is being recruited by Michigan State University and Florida State University. Marsh possesses a strong outside shot and is a threat on offense along with Dudley. Junior Emily Wozena also returns, as does sophomore attacker Alex Chow, who is one of the fastest swimmers on the team.
A pair of seniors, Alexis Crocker and Kenzie Krumm, have moved into starting roles this season after being key bench players last year.
“We have a younger team this year,” Latham said. “We lost some very good players off last year’s team. Nikki Baron was a first-team all-American and she is at the University of Michigan, and Emily Laub is playing club volleyball in college. We have a lot to replace, but the kids are responding very, very well.”
Okemos showed just how well the retooling process is going when it traveled to Chicago for a tournament in late April. Against Fenwick, the No. 1-ranked team in Illinois, Okemos tied the match in the third quarter and ended up losing by just three goals. Okemos also played the third-, fourth-, and fifth-ranked teams in Illinois and finished with one win and three very close losses.
Okemos is on track for another deep tournament run and a possible rematch with Rockford at some point. Okemos dropped a 7-5 decision to Rockford in the second week of the season.
“With have a pretty big rivalry with Rockford,” Latham said. “The year before last we beat out Rockford for the state title. Both schools have great water polo traditions and it’s a friendly rivalry.”