LTHS Spring Sports Part III: Girls Water Polo, Girls Lacrosse, Boys Tennis

This is the third of a four-part series previewing spring sports at Lyons Township and covering teams' early progress. For Part I, go . For Part II, go . For our separate preview of the baseball team, go .

Girls Water Polo—2010 state champion and up-and-coming state powerhouse, Lyons girls water polo maintained a staggering 35-0 record on its way to claiming the IHSA title nearly a year ago. Despite losing four starters, senior leader Grace Trilla believes the group can compensate for the losses.

“There is nothing you can really do when you lose players to graduation, you have to work with it,” Trilla said. “But that's not a huge issue for us, because we've been training in the off season.”

With contributions from former junior varsity players including standout junior Kirby Kaptur, the squad looks prime to defend its crown.

But despite having confidence in the team, Trilla is well aware that retaining the state championship will be no cake walk.

“We really need to take one game at a time this year,” Trilla said. “Winning last year put a huge target on our back this year so, that is never easy. But nothing is expected and we have to work hard for what we earn.”

Girls Lacrosse—In a school in which the boys lacrosse team is a state title contender, it would be easy to overlook the girls team; that, however, would be a mistake.

The girls squad has hit the ground running, beginning its 2011 campaign 3-0. Coming off a 16-7 2010 and a 10th place finish within the state, senior captain Heidi Heim expressed the program’s goals for the current season.

“Our hopes and goals for the year are of course to beat Hinsdale [Central] and OPRF, who are our biggest competition, and also to play in the final four of playoffs,” Heim said.

And besides possessing an important balance of talent, speed and endurance, Heim attributed the squad’s “strong bond between the girls” as a major strength for the Lions.

Boys Tennis—Coached by Bill Wham, Lyons boys tennis team returns plenty of talent from a youthful 2010 squad. Led by senior phenom Danny Schuster, Danny Gonzalez, Will Longo, junior Connor Wasz and sophomore Jake Elliot, Lyons is strong in both singles and doubles outfits.

“As a team, I feel our goal is to work collectively and to compete against Hinsdale Central and OPRF at the top of our conference,” junior doubles competitor Tom Schoder said. “We’re all motivated to help each other improve in practice, even if we may not be able to compete in postseason play.”

The expectations are higher for the talented 2011 group, as a lackluster showing in both singles and doubles categories last season left the Lions craving playoff advancement.

“We want to place as high as possible for state,” Schoder said.