{"id":270779,"date":"2017-08-04T09:30:47","date_gmt":"2017-08-04T16:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=270779"},"modified":"2017-08-04T07:45:30","modified_gmt":"2017-08-04T14:45:30","slug":"the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor<\/em><\/p>\n

It seemed so simple, so obvious to the young Avery Pierce<\/strong>. The eighth-grader had discovered a sport that galvanized her. It was challenging, athletic, and fun\u2014and Avery wanted to play it at the high school level. Which presented a problem. Her school, Greenwich Academy, the oldest all-girl preparatory school in Connecticut, did not have a girls\u2019 water polo team, despite the success and popularity of the sport in the region and the teams other girls\u2019 prep schools fielded.<\/p>\n

So Avery set out to rectify the situation. Bolstered by the timely arrival of fellow polo enthusiast Megan Apostolides<\/strong>, Pierce put her back to the wheel, as it were, and helped engineer a new program at the venerable school that has subsequently altered the landscape of girls\u2019 polo in the Northeast.<\/p>\n

Having now completed their freshman years at Stanford and Holy Cross, respectively, Pierce and Apostolides can look back and be justifiably proud of their success in bringing water polo to Greenwich Academy, or \u201cGA\u201d as they refer to it. Having won league titles the past two years, the Gators have quickly risen to the top of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council <\/strong>(<\/a>NEPSAC), a scant three years after the two young athletes, along with assorted GA students, administrators and parents, birthed the program.<\/p>\n

But the Gators\u2019 outsize success in the pool is due almost entirely to the determination and desire that Pierce, with a winning assist from Apostolides, brought to the task. Choosing during eighth grade to stay at GA for academic reasons rather than transfer to a boarding school, Pierce sought to continue her involvement with polo that had begun when she was introduced to the sport at Greenwich\u2019s Burning Tree Country Club<\/p>\n

\"greenwich-ulmis-02-aug17\"

Photo Courtesy: Greenwich Sentinel<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI loved going to GA; it was the perfect school for me,\u201d Pierce said recently by phone. \u201cIt allowed me the opportunity to do all the different things that I liked. I was really athletic and was able to play all the sports I wanted to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Avery had not anticipated the resistance her polo brainstorm would encounter, though, and her efforts were very nearly derailed. Her eighth-grade proposal to petition classmates and create a varsity team did not resonate with the GA athletic director, who politely turned Pierce down; and her idea lay dormant for a year as she acclimated to the academic rigors of high school.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Persistence, Persistence, Persistence<\/strong><\/em>\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A chance meeting with Apostolides in the summer of 2013 rekindled Pierce\u2019s hopes. Following a semester abroad, early in 2014 Avery and Megan put their heads together and tried a new, and possibly risky, approach to win over the reluctant Gator AD:<\/em> they invited her boss, Head of School Molly King<\/strong>, to an updated presentation.<\/p>\n

And they brought onboard some heavy water polo hitters, including Bill Smith<\/strong><\/a>, a board member of USA Water Polo and founder of Greenwich Aquatics<\/strong><\/a>, the leading age group program in the Northeast. Not only did Smith have experience starting a water polo program from scratch, he had gotten a boys\u2019 team up and running at the Brunswick School, GA\u2019s all-male counterpart, only a few years earlier.<\/p>\n

Said Avery, \u201cWe knew that Bill Smith had worked with getting a team started in Greenwich, so we reached out to him for some help.\u201d Pierce\u2019s and Apostolides\u2019s parents got involved, as well as Jeannie Wahl<\/strong>, whose daughter Borden attended the school and was interested in joining a Greenwich Academy team.<\/p>\n

\u201cCreating this team was a process, it took a couple years,\u201d Megan Apostolides said in an email from London, where she\u2019s spending the summer. \u201cThere was a lot of talk at first, but nothing was really being done to push the team forward. Avery and I, with the help from a few crucial adults, put together a proposal, as well as a roster for the team with girls\u2019 signatures and presented it to the head of the school, the head of the upper school, and to the athletic director.\u201d<\/p>\n

In contrast to the response of the GA athletic department, Head of School King was fully supportive of the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they asked to meet with me to propose their idea, I was immediately impressed with their seriousness of purpose and their dedication to the sport itself,\u201d Ms. King said in an email.<\/p>\n

Noting that it was not unique for GA students to want to start a program or a club, the headmistress said it was important to respect and honor the effort expended, while admitting she knew little about water polo despite its popularity in the Greenwich area.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we sat down and I heard more about the sport, how it is thriving in our area and the rigor of their schedule, I wanted to find a way to make it work,\u201d Ms. King wrote. \u201cWhen students are totally invested in an idea, as this core group of players was, that is both an inspiration and a huge motivator for the school leadership to harness resources to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apostolides gave credit to her classmate and eventual co-captain for their team\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cAvery played a huge role in starting the GA water polo team,\u201d she wrote. \u201cShe was persistent and worked very hard to have this team approved by the administration. We worked as a team, and together we were able to have the water polo team approved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2026Breeds Satisfaction \u2013 and Success<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only did they get a team started, the Gators were an instant hit in the water. Pierce and Apostolides were able to attract GA students with polo experience to their newly formed club team. And Greenwich Academy\u2019s century-old relationship with The Brunswick School paid off in a big way: Ulmis Iordache<\/strong>, head coach for the boys\u2019 team in the fall was available to coach the girls\u2019 team in the spring.<\/p>\n

\"greenwich-ulmis-aug17\"

Ulmis Iordace, w\/ Bill Smith. Photo Courtesy: Greenwich Sentinel<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the top age-group coaches on the East Coast due to his work with Greenwich Aquatics, Iordache fielded a competitive team that very first season, despite a limited roster. \u201cOnly 11 players signed up for the first year; we often traveled with only seven players for most games,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The team was successful almost immediately; by season\u2019s end, it was good enough to have contended for the NEPSAC title. But as a club team, GA wasn\u2019t eligible to compete in the playoffs, which Pierce said was frustrating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was bittersweet for all of us, mostly sweet,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had gone into it knowing we were going to be a club team that year and knowing that we weren\u2019t going to qualify for the NEPSAC playoffs. The goal was not to qualify; it was to win as many games as we could and prove ourselves\u2014not only to our administration but to the water polo community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t disappointed, because we knew we had a chance the next year to prove to everyone that we were the best,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

With varsity status secured, the Gators came of age in their second year. Led by a core of five seniors\u2014including co-captains Apostolides and Pierce\u2014and with an expanded roster, GA went on a championship run, capturing the 2016 NEPSAC girls\u2019 water polo title.<\/p>\n

This season, despite the absence of its founders, GA continues to excel. In the spring, the Gators achieved yet another milestone, beating local powerhouse Greenwich High School, a public school with over 2,000 students (by contrast, GA has a total student body of 800 enrolled in K-12).<\/p>\n

According to Coach Iordache, beating Greenwich was \u201ca solid benchmark\u201d for his team. \u201cIf you\u2019re able to beat them again, that means your program is doing well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Looking back on her experience, certain things stood out for the now-graduated Apostolides.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moment when we heard the news that the team had been approved, and when we won the New England Championship in 2016.\u201d she wrote. \u201cThe feeling of accomplishment after both of these moments was incredible; all of our hard work and dedication had paid off, and in addition, we were successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Head of School King echoed Apostolides\u2019s sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimply put, we couldn’t be prouder,\u201d she said. \u201cIt’s remarkable what they have accomplished in such a short time. For a school whose motto is Toward the Building of Character, <\/em>this sport and the dedication of the GA girls to the program certainly capture GA’s values.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Chip Brenner<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor It seemed so simple, so obvious to the young Avery Pierce. The eighth-grader had discovered a sport that galvanized her. It was challenging, athletic,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":270857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[62974,61624,62976,62973,60187,62975,62977,60192,62978,60674],"class_list":["post-270779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-water-polo","tag-avery-pierce","tag-bill-smith","tag-borden-wahl","tag-greenwich-academy","tag-greenwich-aquatics","tag-jeannie-wahl","tag-megan-apostolides","tag-michael-randazzo","tag-molly-king","tag-ulmis-iordache"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nThe Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer - Swimming World<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor It seemed so simple, so obvious to the young Avery Pierce. The eighth-grader had discovered a sport that galvanized her. It was challenging, athletic,\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-04T16:30:47+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-08-04T14:45:30+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"920\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"601\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Randazzo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb\"},\"headline\":\"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-08-04T16:30:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-08-04T14:45:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/\"},\"wordCount\":1438,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Avery Pierce\",\"Bill Smith\",\"Borden Wahl\",\"Greenwich Academy\",\"Greenwich Aquatics\",\"Jeannie Wahl\",\"Megan Apostolides\",\"Michael Randazzo\",\"Molly King\",\"Ulmis Iordache\"],\"articleSection\":[\"-Home Slider\",\"Water Polo\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/\",\"name\":\"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer - Swimming World\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-08-04T16:30:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-08-04T14:45:30+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg\",\"width\":920,\"height\":601,\"caption\":\"Photo Courtesy: Greenwich Sentinel\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb\",\"name\":\"Michael Randazzo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Michael Randazzo\"},\"description\":\"Michael Randazzo is a freelance contributor at Swimming World focusing on water polo. He covers polo all over the United States for SW and other publications, including the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Skip Shot, The New York Times, Total Water Polo, Water Polo Planet and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children and roots for St. Francis Brooklyn polo.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-randazzo\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer - Swimming World","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer","og_description":"By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor It seemed so simple, so obvious to the young Avery Pierce. The eighth-grader had discovered a sport that galvanized her. It was challenging, athletic,","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2017-08-04T16:30:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-08-04T14:45:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":920,"height":601,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Randazzo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Randazzo","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Randazzo","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb"},"headline":"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer","datePublished":"2017-08-04T16:30:47+00:00","dateModified":"2017-08-04T14:45:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/"},"wordCount":1438,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg","keywords":["Avery Pierce","Bill Smith","Borden Wahl","Greenwich Academy","Greenwich Aquatics","Jeannie Wahl","Megan Apostolides","Michael Randazzo","Molly King","Ulmis Iordache"],"articleSection":["-Home Slider","Water Polo"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/","name":"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer - Swimming World","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg","datePublished":"2017-08-04T16:30:47+00:00","dateModified":"2017-08-04T14:45:30+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg","width":920,"height":601,"caption":"Photo Courtesy: Greenwich Sentinel"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-polo-girl-who-wouldnt-take-no-for-an-answer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Polo Girl Who Wouldn\u2019t Take No for an Answer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb","name":"Michael Randazzo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Michael Randazzo"},"description":"Michael Randazzo is a freelance contributor at Swimming World focusing on water polo. He covers polo all over the United States for SW and other publications, including the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Skip Shot, The New York Times, Total Water Polo, Water Polo Planet and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children and roots for St. Francis Brooklyn polo.","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-randazzo\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"Greenwich Academy its celebrating 2016 NEPSAC Girls Water Polo title. Holding the trophy are Gator co-captains Avery Pierce and Megan Apostolides. Photo Courtesy: Greenwich Time","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/greenwich-aug17.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-18rp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4875"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}