Brianna Bellinghieri ‘22 | Cecilia Murphy ‘22
Photo courtesy of Chris Lo
Demonstrated by his award recognitions and the opinions of his teammates and coaches, Chris Lo ‘21 has heavily contributed to Episcopal’s water polo success since his freshman year. Now a captain, his talent and leadership skills both in and out of the pool make him a role model for the other players in the pool. With his guidance, the boys’ varsity water polo team is hopeful for a successful season.
Lo began his water polo career in the fourth grade. He played Middle School water polo for EA and continued the sport for his four years of Upper School. Lo admits, “I hadn’t heard of the sport before I tried it.” However, he now recognizes his important role on the team as “a big communicator in the pool.” He shares, “I really try to bring the guys together and make sure that we are on top of what we need to do, but also at the same time have a really great time playing the sport that we all love.” Lo believes, “especially in a sport that involves as much communication and coordination as water polo, it’s really important to get everyone together and on the same page.”
EA boys’ water polo head coach Max Kelly ‘06 has been Lo’s coach since his freshman year. Furthermore, he has also coached Lo outside of EA. He recognizes Lo’s talents in distinct three areas, explaining, “One is just overall playmaking abilities. He is a very selfless player, so as a result he does his best to set his teammates up because he would rather see them succeed because he is really a team player.” Kelly continues, “The second way he impacts the team is just his physicality. He’s a really physical player and I think that also inspires his teammates to push themselves.” Finally, Kelly adds that Lo “is a really great overall leader.”
Lo’s teammates value his presence in the pool as well. Co-captain Declan Doherty ‘21 comments, “Chris is a thoughtful, dedicated teammate who gives 110 percent effort every practice. He is always the first in the pool, and he is always willing to help out younger players when they don’t understand what to do in a certain drill.” Anthony Thomas ‘21, another co-captain, agrees that “Chris is a leader who holds us accountable. He doesn’t expect everyone to play as well as he does, but he expects that all of us put in the same amount of work he does. His long hours in the gym and in the pool are proof of his dedication, and he has more commitment to working to improve than anyone I’ve seen.”
During games and practices, Lo maintains his motivation even when the team does not prevail. In fact, he says that one of his favorite memories on the team was “the first game of the season last year against Hill. I had five goals, which was my overall high. We came up a little short against their team, but I felt like I played really well against them and the team was playing really well together.” Fellow players recognize this optimism in Lo. Thomas states, “He [Lo] is fun in the pool when he succeeds, and never dwells on the days when the shots just aren’t going in.”
His successes on the team have not gone unrecognized. Throughout his three completed seasons in high school, Lo has won the John A. Harter Award for Athletic Improvement freshman year and the Mind, Body, and Spirit Award twice. His talents are also reflected in the team’s many victories during Lo’s high school career. Kelly believes, “He’s been contributing [to the team] since the get-go… I think Chris Lo has certainly established himself as one of the premier players in the league. If we had a league this year, in terms of true competition, he would have been up there as one of the top contenders for MVP.”
Lo is confident this year that “We [the team] are more prepared for any season that came before. We have a great group of really strong leaders and a really great group of young players who are going to be the future of the team.” Teammates credit Lo with their unity and overall improvement. Thomas states, “He sets the standard on how hard you should work and makes everyone want to get up to his level. Because of him I want to get stronger, faster, and be a better leader. Our team feels as tight of a unit as I’ve ever seen and I have no doubt Chris’ leadership is a strong contributor to that fact.” Kelly agrees, “This will definitely be one of the top teams we have had in the school’s history for sure.”