As Ashley Letrich approached her high school years, her father Craig encouraged his daughter to participate in two sports.Although she figure-skated and played volleyball, the former was not an option at Loyola Academy. So the summer before seventh grade at Chicago's St. Monica Academy, Letrich decided to try water polo despite never having been a competitive swimmer."I always liked swimming, and I hated running," the Edison Park native said.Letrich soon signed up to play for Loyola's club team. After a period of adjustment, she grew to love the sport. Now in her fourth varsity season, the senior is among the Ramblers' best players -- and a good bet to continue the sport in college as well. Letrich also played four years of volleyball at Loyola.
"I ended up quitting figure skating my freshman year so I could become better at water polo," said Letrich, who started skating at 3 years old. "And volleyball was fun, but I didn't see myself doing it after high school. Water polo I enjoy, and I keep getting better at it."
Last season, Letrich participated in the best campaign in program history as the Ramblers (24-11-1) finished fourth at the state tournament. The trophy was Loyola's first in girls water polo.
Letrich, who played all 36 games, was second on the team to Maeve O'Connor with 66 goals, scoring two at the state tournament. The Ramblers beat Stevenson 7-6 in the quarterfinals before losing to Naperville Central 10-5 in the semifinals and to Fremd 10-9 in the third-place game.
"We came into last season with high expectations, but no one thought about all that," Letrich said of the extended playoff run. "But once the state tournament started, we had nothing to lose."
Despite the loss of seven seniors, the Ramblers once again are expecting to make a long run. Web site Illpolo.com ranked the Ramblers No. 5 in the preseason. Loyola entered the week at 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the MCAC, and were ranked No. 7. St. Ignatius, also in the MCAC, stood at No. 1. Fenwick, last season's state champ, was No. 5.One of Loyola's regular-season losses was a 7-4 setback to Fremd. The Ramblers then posted an 11-4 win Friday over New Trier."I see us as an equal to last year at this point," Letrich said. "But I see us getting better as the season continues."In addition to being one of the best players in the pool, Letrich -- one of only three returning starters -- assumed a leadership role as a co-captain. She lists Santa Clara, the University of Redlands, Brown, Colorado State and Cal State at Monterey Bay as her top choices among the dozens of colleges showing interest.But Letrich has plenty left to do in high school.
The Ramblers were scheduled to play Resurrection on Monday, Oak Park-River Forest on Tuesday, Mother McAuley on Wednesday, and Evanston Thursday. Loyola will also face Sandburg on Saturday.
McAuley, Evanston and Sandburg all are ranked by Illpolo.com. The Ramblers will also be tested when they compete in Fenwick's tournament April 8-10.
"That's one we are looking forward to because there are so many of the top teams there," Letrich said.
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