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ILLINOIS WATER POLO |
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Monday - March 8, 2004
ADAMS LOOKS TO LEAD NEW TRIER TO STATE By Aaron Brown
ILLINOIS -- For the past two years, New Trier’s Gerrit Adams has quietly ranked as one of the top defensive players in the state of Illinois. The Brown University-bound senior will have to rise to the occasion again in order for the Trevians to have a chance of reaching the same success as their state qualifying season of 2002.
Adams started playing water polo as a freshmen at New Trier. Before reaching high school, he swam as a youth at New Trier before deciding to change sports and play basketball. When he reached New Trier, he decided to return to swimming and it was there that he first found out about water polo. "The first time I ever saw water polo was my freshman year after swim season, " said Adams. "Most of the older swimmers I knew played and they said it was a great sport."
He started his freshman year on the frosh/soph team, and by the end of the season he saw some playing time at the Varsity level at Sectionals. The following year, he was named as a starter for the Varsity team and was a major factor in the team advancing to the state tournament in 2002. Last season, he was named to the All-State (third) Team in Illinois and was also named to the All-Sectional (first) team for his efforts at the New Trier Sectional.
Adams stands at 6'6" and weighs nearly 225 pounds, which makes it very difficult for the best offensive players to maneuver in front of the goal to score. The end result is that most of New Trier's games are low scoring; if the rest of his teammates can execute on the offensive end, New Trier has a chance to win almost every game they play in. While they must deal with three key losses, the return of Adams along with several others gives the Trevians an excellent chance to seek revenge on Loyola from last year's sectional championship game loss.
Mike Hill, Charlie Goldberg, and goalie Chris Smith are gone from a team that went 14-11 last season. Along with Adams, New Trier returns Dan Nyhan, Matt Nowlin, Matt Sweeney, Sam Wampler, Bryant Leech, Stephen Bossu, and Alex Robb. Though they will play against Homewood-Flossmoor, Latin, and Mundlelein in their own tournament and have a tough schedule planned, the key games this year will once again be against both Evanston and Loyola. "Evanston is always a fun rivalry game, but Loyola is the team that beat us in the Sectional final and prevented us from returning to state," Adams said. "Everyone will be looking forward to the games at Sectionals once again this year."
He believes that his team has the potential for a great season, and as a senior captain he is looking to provide more than just great defense. "Honestly, my goal is to help as many people as I can to achieve their goals. At the same time, I hope that they will improve and be able to help the rest of the team. Our team goal is obviously to win Sectionals and advance to state. It will be tough, but if we work hard and continue to work on our offense, it is a definite possibility."
In the offseason, Adams has been training at Stevenson High School with the Northern Illinois Polo Club. He traveled with the team to tournaments in St. Louis, Michigan, Fenwick High School, and the Junior Olympics in Orange County, California. Playing with NIPC has given him exposure playing against some of the top talent in the state. Playing water polo year-round has also not only prepared him for the upcoming high school season, but also for a water polo career at the collegiate level.
He will play water polo next year at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. "I liked the atmosphere, the people, the academics...it all seemed to click," he said. "Plus I get to play water polo at the Division I level." Academically, Adams will likely choose a major in biology or premedicine. Currently, he ranks in the top 10 percent of his class at New Trier.
Aside from water polo, Adams enjoys watching Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Family Guy, and the comedy of David Cross. He also listens to groups like The Living End and the rap of Double A.
Growing up, Adams idolized Michael Jordan. "My biggest thrill was attending one of his basketball camps and getting to play against him (Jordan) in a one-on-one game," Adams commented. If he can dominate a game like Michael Jordan, then New Trier will have a definite chance of getting to the state tournament in 2004.
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