Combine the arm of a baseball player, the aquatic speed of a varsity swimmer, the endurance of a rower and the teamwork of a basketball player, and what do you get? The ideal water polo player. Though no player on the women's water polo team has perfected all of those skills, sophomore Adele McCarthy-Beauvais has come close over the course of her career.
McCarthy-Beauvais, hailing from Haydenville, Mass., is one of the major reasons behind the team's success so far this year. Recognized by her teammates and peers alike for her skills as a whole set, and also on the perimeter, McCarthy-Beauvais has come far since first trying the sport in ninth grade.
McCarthy-Beauvais attended Deerfield Academy, a private boarding school in Deerfield, Mass., along with fellow sophomore and princeton teammate Lisa Rockefeller. Having been involved in sports all her life, playing baseball and swimming from an early age, McCarthy-Beauvais first started playing water polo as an alternative to swimming. Her talent in the pool soon became obvious.
"Adele is a top quality player," her high school coach, Mark Scandling, said. "She made everyone else better when she played."
McCarthy-Beauvais received twelve varsity letters over her four years at Deerfield; four in basketball, four in water polo, and four in crew. She remains Deerfield's career leading scorer in both basketball and water polo. In fact, during both her freshman and sophomore years she played on the men's water polo team, as there was not enough interest to field a women's team.
During her junior year, though, as the recognized star of the new women's team, McCarthy-Beauvais truly came into her own as a player and a competitor.
During the summer before her senior year, as well as before her freshman year at Princeton, she practiced with the women's Junior National team. There she improved her game in all areas, and in her senior year it paid off, when Deerfield won the New England Championships with McCarthy-Beauvais as the Tournament MVP.
"I remember Adele once said she liked water polo because it allows for individual talent but still promotes being part of the team," said Scandling.
She cites both her old coach and her parents as being the major sources of encouragement to pursue on the East Coast what is often considered a West Coast sport.
"My Dad is a sports nut, and Mom too," said McCarthy-Beauvais. "They never fail to surprise our team in the stands. I remember when they came to Southerns their cheer was 'Let the big cats eat.' I was just cringing every time."
When McCarthy-Beauvais came to Princeton, though, she wasn't really sure what to expect. Though Princeton's program is not nearly as established or well-known as perennial water polo powers Stanford and Cal, it was still a huge step up from high school.
That step was made easier, however, when McCarthy-Beauvais made the National B team in December of her freshman year, allowing her to practice and play with the U.S. Olympic team and gain valuable experience. Her team competed against foreign Olympians as well, and ended up tying the Russian team in one tournament.
"[Playing with that level of competition] gave me a good amount of confidence and more of a vision of what water polo was," said McCarthy-Beauvais.
Another source of wisdom for the sophomore was last year's team leader, goalie Goga Vukomirovic '00.
"Playing with Goga was just an amazing experience," added McCarthy-Beauvais. "She was definately a mother-figure for us."
This year McCarthy-Beauvais has started to truly fulfill all the predictions of those who have seen her play. Voted MVP of the recent ECAC postseason tournament, she has led Princeton to victory after victory. Favored to win in next weekend's Eastern Championships, the Tigers show no signs of backing down from that challenge.
"We had kind of a slow start," said McCarthy-Beauvais. "But since then, our intensity level has gone up 100 percent. We just have to play our game and I think we'll be fine."
McCarthy-Beauvais' plans for the future include law school, but after that she has little idea of where she will end up. One unique opportunity may present itself, however. The 2004 Olympics will arrive a year after she graduates, and if given the invitation, McCarthy-Beauvais says she will almost certainly take advantage of what would be the chance of a lifetime.
In that case, one might even say her future looks golden.
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