Genna Curry was in eighth grade when she watched the U.S. women’s water polo team beat Spain in the 2012 Olympic gold medal match in London.
The star of that team was driver Maggie Steffens, then an 18-year-old from California, who finished her Olympic campaign with 21 goals to lead all scorers and was subsequently named player of the year for 2012 by the International Swimming Federation.
“I remember watching the U.S. team play in London, and she was just an incredible player to watch,” Curry said. “She was so young, but she was so good. To think that she was my age at the time is just amazing.”
The Michigan-bound Curry is now a senior driver for the water polo team at Oak Park-River Forest, and on Tuesday, April 19, she and her teammates got to meet Steffens, who appeared at the Huskies’ home match against Lyons.
“USA Water Polo contacted us,” OPRF coach Beth Perez said. “(Steffens) was in Chicago for an interview session with ESPN, and she wanted to do something water polo-related while she was in town. Ours was the best game and the closest one to downtown, so we got lucky with her visiting us.”
During the JV match, Steffens climbed into the stands to meet both the OPRF and Lyons varsity teams, took pictures, and talked about her experiences as a young player.
“She was very personable, telling the girls about her high school career, and how she started playing when she was 8,” Perez said. “She’s kind of the figure for women’s water polo and she just wanted to promote the sport.
“They were excited, and sort of in awe of what she has accomplished.”
Steffens is sitting out Stanford’s water polo season to prepare for the 2016 Olympic Games. She dropped the ball to start the OPRF-Lyons varsity match, which the Huskies won 12-9. Curry had three goals, two assists and four kickouts.
Curry said she still follows Steffens’ career as a fan.
“I like to keep up with everything she’s doing,” Curry said. “It was so cool to meet her and talk to her about how she grew up in the sport.”
OPRF was 22-1 on the season entering the week. Senior Jilly Cronin had three goals and five assists against Lyons, and the Huskies got two goals apiece from juniors Addie Steward-Nolan and Tamsen Cronin. Goalie Kaitlyn Peterson made eight saves in the win.
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As a fellow driver, Curry has a special appreciation for what makes Steffens great.
“She takes her time. She doesn’t just throw the ball anywhere and shoot whenever she feels like it,” Curry said. “And when you see her come up out of the water to shoot, you just know it’s going in. She rarely misses a shot, and it’s because she takes her time.
“It was incredible meeting her.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press