Wet, and wild freshman Julia Matuszek treads the water during water polo practice at 3:45 in the pool. By joining water polo, she’s doing something she never thought she’d do.

Matuszek had always wanted to be in a lot of clubs, debate, and the tennis team, but water polo was never in her plans.

“My original plan for high school was to be on the debate team, tennis team, and a bunch of other volunteer clubs. Most of my plans didn’t really work out because I didn’t feel any passion towards debate, and I couldn’t find the time to play tennis at the beginning of the year. However, I am still a part of all those volunteer clubs. I started to play water polo because my friend from another school talked about it, but I never thought I would actually play on a team,” Matuszek said.

Although water polo is fun, it’s really hard on your body.

“Water polo is definitely a tough sport. The stamina and endurance you need for it is incredible. You are constantly treading, throwing, swimming, etc…, plus the girls play tough,” Matuszek said.

Matuszek is really excited for this season and hopes to learn a lot with new friends.

“In this season I look forward to learning how to play water polo, becoming a better swimmer, making new friends, and making memories with my team, with a couple of my closest friends,” Matuszek said.

Teammates and fast friends freshmen Elizabeth Bechtle and Lauren Brace really love having Matuszek on the team

“She’s a good teammate. She’s always positive and always smiling. She makes a great contribution to the team overall,” Bechtle said.

Having such a bubbly personality has also translated to outside of practice, which is something her teammates have noticed all around the building.

“In and out of the pool. She’s really nice, positive, super funny and a great person to be on the team with” Brace said.