March 22, 1998
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The 1998 season is the start of a new beginning for the Villanova University Women's Water Polo team, in their first year as a varsity sport. After a competitive season in 1997 where the wildcats recorded a 13-7 overall record and a 6-5 mark in the CWPA Mid-Atlantic Division, the team is anxious and more than ready to make the jump to the next level. With six returning players and an outstanding recruiting class, this Villanova squad is the most experienced team since the program was first formed in 1993. These talented Wildcats will thus try to make their inaugural campaign a memorable one.
The Wildcats will be led in 1998 by sophomore utility player Bridgitte Bayster. Bayster, a force on both sides of the ball, uses her athleticism to drive to the cage with force on offense in addition to being a crafty defender. Last season, she finished first on the team in steals with 18 and second on the team in goals scored with 53. Senior Stacee Jones will play alongside Bayster at the driver position. With an unmatched work ethic to add to her talented offense skills (14 goals and six steals in 1997), Jones possesses the total package. Freshman Kathy Kaufold will come in at the driver spot along with fellow rookie Eve McCarney, who will also see time at two-meter, adding depth to both positions.
Sharing the duties at the two-meter position is freshman Carrie Boyle from Redlands, Calif. At Redlands High School, Boyle played on the boy's varsity water polo squad until a girls' team was formed. She has already proven herself to be an invaluable play maker, scoring 13 goals and adding 13 steals in preseason play. Howard also had an extremely impressive fall/winter preseason tallying 10 goals and six steals. Freshman Mackenzie Tadich has been the understudy at the two-meter position, and like Boyle and Howard, shows a vast potential for this spot.
At two-meter defense, sophomores Joie Marhefka and Sharon Fuller are the defensive glue that holds the team together. On one side, Marhefka has an unbreakable composure and quick reaction time which keeps her opponents frustrated. On the other, Fuller has both the speed and size to over power her opponents and her outstanding quickness allows her to double as the team's sprinter.
At goalie, the Wildcats offer a combination of both youth and experience. Senior Kara Zogby, who made eight saves last season in limited playing time, will give the young team the knowledge they need in net. She split time during the fall/winter season with freshman Amanda Sewald, who made four saves in her first taste of college water polo.
With the loss of two-meter Lilah Al-Masri (team-high 69 goals in 1997) and goalie Kerry Delaney (team-high 40 saves in 1997) to graduation, the Wildcats would seem to have two big holes to fill. Fall training, however, proved to be all that Villanova needed to come together as a team. With an outstanding group of freshman adding depth at each position, Al-Masri returning to her alma mater as head coach and Zogby and Jones stepping up to provide leadership, it would appear that the Wildcats are well on their way to success.
During fall training as they looked towards their first varsity season, Villanova focused on rebuilding the strength, conditioning and fundamental skills it takes for any team to be successful. Now with the season in sight, the Wildcat women's water polo team will build what they hope to be a new tradition in Villanova athletics.
