Isabella Lippolis '21 Recruiting Profile

I am truly committed to playing water polo at the college level and have been pursuing this goal since I was 12 years old when, after being a competitive swimmer, I was introduced to water polo through the mentorship of the New York Athletic Club.  I have been selected for ODP for three consecutive years but my greatest moment there was being awarded the Nick Johnson Inspiration Award because when the play was tough I never gave up.  At one point I was thinking about transferring out of my high school in CT to a school with the #1 NEPSAC women's water polo championship team.  Instead, I presented to the head of my school's athletic department with a business case on how the lack of a women's water polo program was a real gap when compared to comparable schools; especially in an all-girls school committed to empowering girls to be future leaders.  It didn't happen that year but the school did agree to form a club team in the 2017-2018 school year and a varsity team last year with a full-time coach.  I recruited anyone who could swim to join the team.  We were a ragtag team of 10 girls our first Varsity year in 2019 but through sheer grit and determination, we qualified for the NEPSAC championships and finished in 4th place.  It was my greatest honor to be named to the NEPSAC all-tournament team and the all New England team (voted by all coaches in the New England Division).  I am committed to continually getting better and helping both my school and club teams continue to grow stronger.