Indiana University Athletics
Blog: Indiana Water Polo Takes A Trip To Italy
12/20/2019 12:22:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Over the last few days of November and through Thanksgiving Week, the Indiana Women's Water Polo Team had the opportunity to spend 10 days in Italy with a first stop in Paris. The players had many opportunities to experience new cultures, meet new people and even get better in the pool by playing Italian teams. Below, some of the players had a chance to blog what the experience was like for them and the team wanted to share it with their followers.
First stop: Paris
From Sophomore Sarah Greeven
Our European adventure started after an eight-and-a-half-hour flight. We landed in Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) around 7 AM but still had a long way to go to get to Italy. Our time in CDG consisted of a nine-hour layover! Luckily, with a proposal from our teammate, Mary, our journey to the Eiffel Tower began. We made our way through the busy airport trying to navigate the signs that led us to the train that would take us all the way to the Eiffel Tower. Thankfully one of our upperclassmen, Joelle, really saved the day with her fluency in French. As we made our way through Paris, the train made many stops, and as we got closer and closer, the busier the train got and we all started to feel like sardines as if we were on the A bus back in Bloomington! After an hour and a half flew by, and a few of us briefly getting lost along the way, we all made it to the Eiffel tower in one piece. The entire team was full of joy and glee, staring up at the complex tower in awe. We all couldn't believe our eyes, how amazing it was.
After a several dozen pictures were taken by everyone, we started our journey to back to the train, towards the CDG airport, but before we said goodbye to Paris, we couldn't leave without grabbing a croissant and something warm to drink. We found a few cafés, but most of the group stuck with Joelle as the café owners didn't speak any English and Joelle translated all our orders. We were all in delight with how amazing the food was, especially the croissants and cappuccinos! The entire team was in heaven, munching on the fluffy pastries. As quickly as it had begun, our time in Paris was coming to a close and we hopped back on the train to the airport. Next stop, ITALY!
Finally, in Italy!
From Freshman Lauren Gaudry
Milan was the first city we visited. While there, we stayed in tight-knit quarters and had a lot of laughs. One of the coolest places in Milan that we visited was the Duomo di Milano. Before we went in, a couple girls were given popcorn kernels to feed the pigeons. It was a lot of excitement and very funny. Inside the Duomo, we got to pray and see one of the actual Holy Nails that were used to pierce Jesus on the cross. We also got to go underneath the Cathedral and see a bunch of exhibits and the ruins of Il Rito del Battesimo, an ancient baptismal well. Then, we got to go on the roof of the Cathedral. The view of the city from up there was stunning and there were tons of amazing statues on the roof, as well. We also got to play one of the top ranked club teams in Italy which was, at first, a bit of a shock because it was our first time all playing together against a different team but it was also very fun and brought out our competitive spirit quite a bit.
When in Recco!
From Junior Juli Hilovsky
Recco was absolutely gorgeous! Recco is the city in which we stayed for the longest duration of time. In Recco, we went on many different excursions. On the way to Recco from Milan, we stopped at Lake Maggori. Lake Maggori was breathtaking, and we were fortunate enough to take a boat to a historical castle on a quiet, little island in the middle of the lake. The next day, we went to one of my personal favorite places of the trip, Portofino and Santa Margherita. These are both two beautiful beach towns which are unlike any beaches in the United States. All of the pictures we took turned out amazing and they don't even do it justice! That night we had dinner at Blackwave, a restaurant owned by one of our tour guides, Serena. The restaurant itself had a surf vibe which brought most of us a taste of home. The last excursion we took in Recco was a guided tour in Genoa. We went to the highest point in Genoa and were able to see the entire city! There is so much history in Genoa, as it is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus and the Port of Genoa establishes Genoa as the merchant capital of Italy.
The water polo in Genoa was also very crucial for us coming together as a team. After the first two days of polo in Milan, we definitely took steps forward in becoming more cohesive with each other. Here we learned a lot about our teammate's individual strengths and weaknesses. Chaos and adversity also hit in Recco, which was a good test to our team dynamic. We needed this test in order to prepare for adversity that may come throughout the season, and learn to effectively prevail. Overall, Recco was an imperative growing experience for our team.
Our trip to Florence
From Freshman Robyn Greenslade
Our next stop on the trip was to one of the most historic cities in the world, Florence. After a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride from Recco, we finally arrived at the first pool we would be training in. We started off our training in Florence with an hour swim to loosen up and practice some skill work. Once done with our swim, we made our way to our beautiful hotel, The Mediterraneo. We were then given a chance to unpack and settle in as well as three hours of free time. In our free time, some of us wondered our way down the historic streets of Florence, where we first stopped at the famous Duomo. After taking in the sights of the Duomo, we then stopped at a small café and got some delicious gelato on our way back to the hotel. After some down time at the hotel, we then walked to the pool to have a strength session ran by our strength coach, Lanie. After an hour of working up a sweat and getting stronger, we then got in the pool to face our first Florence opponent. The professional team from Florence was very skilled and strong and provided some great competition for us. People got the chance to step up and compete, while also learning a new style of water polo not as familiar to us. After a successful late night of water polo, we made our way back to the hotel for a quick pasta dinner in the lobby. The next day, we were able to go inside the Duomo, which was a very architecturally beautiful building. Yet again, for lunch, we had a taste of the Italian culture with some really good pizza. Some of us also went to the Magnum factory where we got to create our own ice cream. In the evening we had practice and we really took in the feedback given by the coaches the previous day. It was clear that we were working well together as we made many plays.
Last stop: Rome!
From Sophomores Tina Doherty and Izzy Mandema
Our journey to Rome started out with a three-hour bus ride from Florence. As soon as we touched down into Rome we started exploring. Our tour guides, Marella and Serena, took us down the street where we could go explore Vatican City, where Pope Francis lives. Inside the Vatican is one of the most beautiful things we saw on the trip. The designs inside were insanely detailed and everyone was left in awe of the handmade masterpiece. After exploring, we started to head back to the hotel for rest and dinner before our night practice with a team located a little outside of Rome. This was one of the smaller teams we played, and our coaches decided to set up two courses to allow everyone to get the most out of the practice. After two hours of practice, we started our journey back to our hotel where we could get a good night's rest.
The second day in Rome we took two trains to explore the Colosseum. When walking out of the train station, the colosseum was right there. We were all in awe that it was just right in front of us, the first thing we could see as we walked out of the station. This beautiful historical stadium was an amazing site to see. We all gathered around to gaze upon its glory - and take millions of pictures, of course. We then enter the Colosseum and explored around for about an hour, learning all of its history; we even saw the famous colosseum kitty! After the colosseum, we were given free time to explore the city of Rome. People went all over the place exploring many of the other beautiful historical sites, some including: Palatine Hill, Spanish Steps, Piazza Novona, Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. Of course, we got some shopping in and once we were finished, we all met at Piazza del Popolo. It was magical, because when we all met up again, we all had stories to share about what we saw and what we brought. After we did our classic count off, we began the journey back to our hotel to get ready for our practice. We took a short bus ride to our last practice of the trip. We ended the scrimmage on a high note; the opposing team put up a hard fight and it was nice to see all of our hard work pay off. Once we got back to the hotel, we had to get ready for our long journey home that started at 3 AM that night. It was sad to say goodbye to such a beautiful city but happy to leave with all the memories and very full stomachs. I mean, when in Rome...
Trip Recap
From Freshman Berta Pascual
Overall, the trip has been an amazing opportunity to grow as a team and as a family. Going through all different kinds of experiences together has built our relationships in many ways. We have grown closer as friends as well as a team and know more about each other; we also learned a lot about European water polo. We are going to miss Italy and not just for the pasta and gelato but also for the awesome moments.
First stop: Paris
From Sophomore Sarah Greeven
Our European adventure started after an eight-and-a-half-hour flight. We landed in Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) around 7 AM but still had a long way to go to get to Italy. Our time in CDG consisted of a nine-hour layover! Luckily, with a proposal from our teammate, Mary, our journey to the Eiffel Tower began. We made our way through the busy airport trying to navigate the signs that led us to the train that would take us all the way to the Eiffel Tower. Thankfully one of our upperclassmen, Joelle, really saved the day with her fluency in French. As we made our way through Paris, the train made many stops, and as we got closer and closer, the busier the train got and we all started to feel like sardines as if we were on the A bus back in Bloomington! After an hour and a half flew by, and a few of us briefly getting lost along the way, we all made it to the Eiffel tower in one piece. The entire team was full of joy and glee, staring up at the complex tower in awe. We all couldn't believe our eyes, how amazing it was.
After a several dozen pictures were taken by everyone, we started our journey to back to the train, towards the CDG airport, but before we said goodbye to Paris, we couldn't leave without grabbing a croissant and something warm to drink. We found a few cafés, but most of the group stuck with Joelle as the café owners didn't speak any English and Joelle translated all our orders. We were all in delight with how amazing the food was, especially the croissants and cappuccinos! The entire team was in heaven, munching on the fluffy pastries. As quickly as it had begun, our time in Paris was coming to a close and we hopped back on the train to the airport. Next stop, ITALY!
Finally, in Italy!
From Freshman Lauren Gaudry
Milan was the first city we visited. While there, we stayed in tight-knit quarters and had a lot of laughs. One of the coolest places in Milan that we visited was the Duomo di Milano. Before we went in, a couple girls were given popcorn kernels to feed the pigeons. It was a lot of excitement and very funny. Inside the Duomo, we got to pray and see one of the actual Holy Nails that were used to pierce Jesus on the cross. We also got to go underneath the Cathedral and see a bunch of exhibits and the ruins of Il Rito del Battesimo, an ancient baptismal well. Then, we got to go on the roof of the Cathedral. The view of the city from up there was stunning and there were tons of amazing statues on the roof, as well. We also got to play one of the top ranked club teams in Italy which was, at first, a bit of a shock because it was our first time all playing together against a different team but it was also very fun and brought out our competitive spirit quite a bit.
When in Recco!
From Junior Juli Hilovsky
Recco was absolutely gorgeous! Recco is the city in which we stayed for the longest duration of time. In Recco, we went on many different excursions. On the way to Recco from Milan, we stopped at Lake Maggori. Lake Maggori was breathtaking, and we were fortunate enough to take a boat to a historical castle on a quiet, little island in the middle of the lake. The next day, we went to one of my personal favorite places of the trip, Portofino and Santa Margherita. These are both two beautiful beach towns which are unlike any beaches in the United States. All of the pictures we took turned out amazing and they don't even do it justice! That night we had dinner at Blackwave, a restaurant owned by one of our tour guides, Serena. The restaurant itself had a surf vibe which brought most of us a taste of home. The last excursion we took in Recco was a guided tour in Genoa. We went to the highest point in Genoa and were able to see the entire city! There is so much history in Genoa, as it is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus and the Port of Genoa establishes Genoa as the merchant capital of Italy.
The water polo in Genoa was also very crucial for us coming together as a team. After the first two days of polo in Milan, we definitely took steps forward in becoming more cohesive with each other. Here we learned a lot about our teammate's individual strengths and weaknesses. Chaos and adversity also hit in Recco, which was a good test to our team dynamic. We needed this test in order to prepare for adversity that may come throughout the season, and learn to effectively prevail. Overall, Recco was an imperative growing experience for our team.
Our trip to Florence
From Freshman Robyn Greenslade
Our next stop on the trip was to one of the most historic cities in the world, Florence. After a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride from Recco, we finally arrived at the first pool we would be training in. We started off our training in Florence with an hour swim to loosen up and practice some skill work. Once done with our swim, we made our way to our beautiful hotel, The Mediterraneo. We were then given a chance to unpack and settle in as well as three hours of free time. In our free time, some of us wondered our way down the historic streets of Florence, where we first stopped at the famous Duomo. After taking in the sights of the Duomo, we then stopped at a small café and got some delicious gelato on our way back to the hotel. After some down time at the hotel, we then walked to the pool to have a strength session ran by our strength coach, Lanie. After an hour of working up a sweat and getting stronger, we then got in the pool to face our first Florence opponent. The professional team from Florence was very skilled and strong and provided some great competition for us. People got the chance to step up and compete, while also learning a new style of water polo not as familiar to us. After a successful late night of water polo, we made our way back to the hotel for a quick pasta dinner in the lobby. The next day, we were able to go inside the Duomo, which was a very architecturally beautiful building. Yet again, for lunch, we had a taste of the Italian culture with some really good pizza. Some of us also went to the Magnum factory where we got to create our own ice cream. In the evening we had practice and we really took in the feedback given by the coaches the previous day. It was clear that we were working well together as we made many plays.
Last stop: Rome!
From Sophomores Tina Doherty and Izzy Mandema
Our journey to Rome started out with a three-hour bus ride from Florence. As soon as we touched down into Rome we started exploring. Our tour guides, Marella and Serena, took us down the street where we could go explore Vatican City, where Pope Francis lives. Inside the Vatican is one of the most beautiful things we saw on the trip. The designs inside were insanely detailed and everyone was left in awe of the handmade masterpiece. After exploring, we started to head back to the hotel for rest and dinner before our night practice with a team located a little outside of Rome. This was one of the smaller teams we played, and our coaches decided to set up two courses to allow everyone to get the most out of the practice. After two hours of practice, we started our journey back to our hotel where we could get a good night's rest.
The second day in Rome we took two trains to explore the Colosseum. When walking out of the train station, the colosseum was right there. We were all in awe that it was just right in front of us, the first thing we could see as we walked out of the station. This beautiful historical stadium was an amazing site to see. We all gathered around to gaze upon its glory - and take millions of pictures, of course. We then enter the Colosseum and explored around for about an hour, learning all of its history; we even saw the famous colosseum kitty! After the colosseum, we were given free time to explore the city of Rome. People went all over the place exploring many of the other beautiful historical sites, some including: Palatine Hill, Spanish Steps, Piazza Novona, Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. Of course, we got some shopping in and once we were finished, we all met at Piazza del Popolo. It was magical, because when we all met up again, we all had stories to share about what we saw and what we brought. After we did our classic count off, we began the journey back to our hotel to get ready for our practice. We took a short bus ride to our last practice of the trip. We ended the scrimmage on a high note; the opposing team put up a hard fight and it was nice to see all of our hard work pay off. Once we got back to the hotel, we had to get ready for our long journey home that started at 3 AM that night. It was sad to say goodbye to such a beautiful city but happy to leave with all the memories and very full stomachs. I mean, when in Rome...
Trip Recap
From Freshman Berta Pascual
Overall, the trip has been an amazing opportunity to grow as a team and as a family. Going through all different kinds of experiences together has built our relationships in many ways. We have grown closer as friends as well as a team and know more about each other; we also learned a lot about European water polo. We are going to miss Italy and not just for the pasta and gelato but also for the awesome moments.
Players Mentioned
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Water Polo
Driver
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
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