Rockford won the girls’ water polo state title last year and could be the favorite to take the honor again this season.
Throughout the spring, the Rams were 16-4. They had been ranked No. 1 in the state.
Adrianna Craft, a senior, has been scoring the bulk of her team’s goals this season.
“She’s one of the best workers I’ve ever met,” said fourth-year coach Scott Voltz. “She’s the first to practice and the last to leave, every single night and morning.”
Kara Vandawater, a junior, is the team’s second leading scorer.
“She’s very fast and very crafty,” Voltz said.
Elli Raymond has been the goalkeeper as a senior, and Voltz also praised the efforts of Hannah Raymond, a freshman and Elli’s sister.
Voltz hopes his team will be in the state finals again this season. He knows that Okemos and Ann Arbor Skyline will be among the teams that his squad will have to beat for the title.
The Rams have a younger roster this season, Voltz said. He has six seniors with Adrianna Craft, Elli Raymond, Heather Ferriby, Kalia Lippencott, Kristen Schnelle, and Marie Siegel. Erika Stern and Vandawater are the two juniors.
Sophomores for the Rams are Megan Schremp, Lexi Chisholm, Kaleyn Arend, Delayhni Kornak-Kotarba, and Erin Hudson. Hanna Raymond is the team’s lone freshman.
Craft and Vandawater were thorns in the side of Hudsonville’s water polo team, as both girls scored four goals apiece against them and led their team to a 10-3 victory in early April.
Raymond picked up 11 saves in net for Rockford.
“We’re tired,” said Voltz. “We haven’t had a lot of time to practice. I think we played a little tired at times. But I also think Hudsonville made us play hard. They had a nice defense effort.”
“We need more experience,” Voltz said. “We need more time playing together. We’re actually very young.” He’s hoping the team will show plenty of maturity by playoff time when they go for another title.
Craft indicated she’s had productive offensive games. “But goals to me don’t matter so much,” she said. “The team performed the best we have all season. There’s still a lot of work to do.”
She said her team’s offense has been working together very well. “Whenever I score, it’s usually not me that scores but my teammates getting me that good pass and I’m able to move with that,” she said. “If my teammates don’t give me the ball, I don’t score. It’s a team sport.”
Hudsonville coach John Neeb acknowledged that it’s not easy playing a team like Rockford.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match,” Neeb said. “Adrianna is one of the top players in the state. She’s incredible.”
“It’s hard this season because we don’t have as many practices as we did last year,” Craft said. “We have a lot more games.”