Indiana University Athletics
Student Spotlight: Jessica Gaudreault
1/9/2017 10:34:00 AM | General, Women's Water Polo, Student-Athlete Services
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Jessica Gaudreault returned to an unfamiliar sight in IU's Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center this summer.
A junior goalkeeper on Indiana's water polo team, Gaudreault entered the team room to start the semester, but only recognized two faces: seniors Bronwyn Smith and Jordan Elwood.
Everyone else on the team, including Indiana's coaching staff, wasn't around when Gaudreault left the team two years ago to train full time for Canada's Olympic Water Polo Team.
It took some time to get to know people, but Gaudreault has made plenty of transitions to new teams in her career.
"The weirdest part for me was seeing the freshmen when I left the team are now the leaders, and they've developed so much as people," she said. "People have expectations of me as a leader and how I play, which is the hardest thing I've had to deal with since being back."
The expectations are high on Gaudreault for good reason. A Canadian junior national player in her prep career, she was in the cage as IU's starter just two weeks after her arrival. Before she departed for training with Team Canada, Gaudreault received two All-CWPA first team selections, combined for 445 saves (7th – IU history), and aided Indiana to their third CWPA Championship and NCAA Appearance in 2014.
When Gaudreault got the call to serve as Canada's starting goalkeeper, she knew it meant putting her collegiate career on hold to train for two full years in Montreal. It also meant saying goodbye to the friends and teammates she had in Indiana.
"For me, it wasn't a question," Gaudreault said. "I knew what I wanted to do, and I was up front with that when I was being recruited. My ultimate goal was to be at the Olympics in 2016, so I was determined to do that. It was hard leaving, because I knew when I came back all of my friends would be gone."
In 10 years with the sport Gaudreault has always played in the cage, but she had to take strides in her game to play Olympic-quality water polo. Her technique and game sense grew as she adjusted to the speed of the game's highest level. Knowing herself and her limits was crucial to her ability to be at her best.
That self-realization added to the sting of coming as close as Canada did to Olympic qualification. The team, featuring a trio of Hoosiers (Gaudreault, Shae Fournier, and Jakie Köhli), earned three wins in the group stage to push into the quarterfinal match against Italy. The Canadians fell, 8-7, to come one game—and one goal—short of the 2016 Olympics.
"It was heartbreaking," said Gaudreault. "It's the first time I've ever been on that big of a stage. It was humbling. I had worked that hard and it still wasn't enough. Coming into this next cycle, I know that I'll be working each day for four years."
Gaudreault and Team Canada will get another chance at qualification in 2020, but for now she returns to Bloomington to play two more seasons with Indiana. She, along with first year coaches Ryan Castle and Emily Carr, want to take advantage of having the CWPA and NCAA Championships in Indiana this season.
And while Gaudreault is new to many of the players, she isn't the only player from her home country, because the Hoosiers had developed a water polo pipeline from Canada to Bloomington since their first Canadian signee in 2008.
The main motivator for Gaudreault choosing IU was her eventual teammates—Fournier, Kohli, Shelby Taylor, and Meaghan Lappan—all played with Jess at the prep level. Köhli and Fournier eased her transition to Team Canada. And upon her return, Gaudreault joined fellow Canadian national players Sarah Myers and Kelly Matthews, both juniors in eligibility like her. The three of them have done well to smooth the semester transition of another junior national player, Joelle Nacouzi, who joined Indiana this month.
"My Canada team has been like my family over these years," Gaudreault said, reflecting on the amount of travel and transition she's been through. "I think of them like sisters."
The Hoosiers' 2017 campaign, the first under coach Castle, begins on January 20 with a five-game invitational that includes two top-10 teams from last season. Gaudreault is Indiana's not-so-secret weapon between the pipes, and she's ready to pull back the curtain on what the Hoosiers have in store for teams this year.
"We get such few games played at home as is, so if we could get five extra home games that would be an amazing experience, especially with a new coach and a new program in terms of our tactics," Gaudreault said. "Everyone sees us as the underdog right now because nobody knows what we're going to come out with."
A junior goalkeeper on Indiana's water polo team, Gaudreault entered the team room to start the semester, but only recognized two faces: seniors Bronwyn Smith and Jordan Elwood.
Everyone else on the team, including Indiana's coaching staff, wasn't around when Gaudreault left the team two years ago to train full time for Canada's Olympic Water Polo Team.
It took some time to get to know people, but Gaudreault has made plenty of transitions to new teams in her career.
"The weirdest part for me was seeing the freshmen when I left the team are now the leaders, and they've developed so much as people," she said. "People have expectations of me as a leader and how I play, which is the hardest thing I've had to deal with since being back."
The expectations are high on Gaudreault for good reason. A Canadian junior national player in her prep career, she was in the cage as IU's starter just two weeks after her arrival. Before she departed for training with Team Canada, Gaudreault received two All-CWPA first team selections, combined for 445 saves (7th – IU history), and aided Indiana to their third CWPA Championship and NCAA Appearance in 2014.
When Gaudreault got the call to serve as Canada's starting goalkeeper, she knew it meant putting her collegiate career on hold to train for two full years in Montreal. It also meant saying goodbye to the friends and teammates she had in Indiana.
"For me, it wasn't a question," Gaudreault said. "I knew what I wanted to do, and I was up front with that when I was being recruited. My ultimate goal was to be at the Olympics in 2016, so I was determined to do that. It was hard leaving, because I knew when I came back all of my friends would be gone."
In 10 years with the sport Gaudreault has always played in the cage, but she had to take strides in her game to play Olympic-quality water polo. Her technique and game sense grew as she adjusted to the speed of the game's highest level. Knowing herself and her limits was crucial to her ability to be at her best.
That self-realization added to the sting of coming as close as Canada did to Olympic qualification. The team, featuring a trio of Hoosiers (Gaudreault, Shae Fournier, and Jakie Köhli), earned three wins in the group stage to push into the quarterfinal match against Italy. The Canadians fell, 8-7, to come one game—and one goal—short of the 2016 Olympics.
"It was heartbreaking," said Gaudreault. "It's the first time I've ever been on that big of a stage. It was humbling. I had worked that hard and it still wasn't enough. Coming into this next cycle, I know that I'll be working each day for four years."
Gaudreault and Team Canada will get another chance at qualification in 2020, but for now she returns to Bloomington to play two more seasons with Indiana. She, along with first year coaches Ryan Castle and Emily Carr, want to take advantage of having the CWPA and NCAA Championships in Indiana this season.
And while Gaudreault is new to many of the players, she isn't the only player from her home country, because the Hoosiers had developed a water polo pipeline from Canada to Bloomington since their first Canadian signee in 2008.
The main motivator for Gaudreault choosing IU was her eventual teammates—Fournier, Kohli, Shelby Taylor, and Meaghan Lappan—all played with Jess at the prep level. Köhli and Fournier eased her transition to Team Canada. And upon her return, Gaudreault joined fellow Canadian national players Sarah Myers and Kelly Matthews, both juniors in eligibility like her. The three of them have done well to smooth the semester transition of another junior national player, Joelle Nacouzi, who joined Indiana this month.
"My Canada team has been like my family over these years," Gaudreault said, reflecting on the amount of travel and transition she's been through. "I think of them like sisters."
The Hoosiers' 2017 campaign, the first under coach Castle, begins on January 20 with a five-game invitational that includes two top-10 teams from last season. Gaudreault is Indiana's not-so-secret weapon between the pipes, and she's ready to pull back the curtain on what the Hoosiers have in store for teams this year.
"We get such few games played at home as is, so if we could get five extra home games that would be an amazing experience, especially with a new coach and a new program in terms of our tactics," Gaudreault said. "Everyone sees us as the underdog right now because nobody knows what we're going to come out with."
Players Mentioned
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
GK
/ Women's Water Polo
D
/ Women's Water PoloATK
/ Women's Water PoloATK
/ Women's Water Polo
C
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