The Central Times Editorial Board has named senior water polo goalie Eleni Nicoloudes the Central Times’ Female Athlete of the Year, recognized for her record-breaking saves, strong leadership, and impact in and out of the pool.

Nicoloudes started playing water polo at just nine years old, after her local pool in Chicago formed a team and recruited swimmers to join.

“They kind of just took all their swim kids and threw them into the water polo program,” Nicoloudes said. “That’s how I was introduced to water polo, and I really liked it off the bat. I just stuck with it even when I moved to Naperville.”

Nicoloudes still remembers scoring her first goal in 2016, a moment that sparked her love for the game.

“I was very nervous to kind of get in the water at first, but once I got in I was excited,” Nicoloudes said. “I just remember getting passed the ball by one of my teammates, I was by myself and I was open, so I just decided to shoot the ball, and it went in. The thrill of experiencing water polo for the first time stemmed from that initial memory.”

Since then, her passion for the sport has only grown.

“I really love the competitive nature of it, I like how fast paced it is,” Nicoloudes said. “We have a shot clock, so it definitely makes the game go quicker. I love how unpredictable it can be too, you never know what you’re going to get when you get in [the pool].”

Nicoloudes credits her hard work and dedication to her father, who played college soccer and basketball. 

“No matter what the sport it may be, he’s shown me that hard work, dedication and determination are the things that are going to make you a better player overall,” Nicoloudes said. “And that’s not only with your physical abilities, but a determination aspect comes into play mentally, too. He’s taught me that when you’re feeling down, when you’re having a bad game, it’s having that mental toughness to push through those hard times and still become a better player because of it.”

Outside of the water, Nicoloudes has also seen the noticeable influence the sport has had on her personal life. 

“As a goalie, the hardest thing for me is mental toughness,” Nicoloudes said. “When I first started becoming goalie, I was always down on myself if we lost a game, because I would always have thought that it was my fault. I applied that to my life outside of water polo, because there have been challenges wherever you look in life, and it’s taught me that having that resilience to keep pushing through those challenges.”

Haley Green, Central’s head girls water polo coach, has seen Nicoloudes’ leadership grow during her four years in the program.

“As a player and a person, [her] confidence levels [have grown],” Green said. “In terms of her playing, you started to see her take more risks and like decisions on her own. And then in terms of her character, her ability to reach out and help her teammates and make sure everyone feels included and welcome.” 

As team captain, Nicoloudes has embraced the responsibility of guiding and supporting her teammates.

“I’m most proud of myself for the leader that I’ve become with the captain title. I have been able to be a true team leader and make sure that like all of my teammates never get too hard and down on themselves. I feel like I’ve done a really good job encouraging my teammates and being a person that they can come to when they need a shoulder to lean on,” Nicoloudes said.

Green believes that Nicoloudes’ talents extend just as much in the water as they do while leading the team. 

“She demonstrates exceptional game awareness and decision making under pressure,” Green said. “She has really, really nice, accurate passing, and her shooting is actually useful from the cage. So she has a good ability to read the game, anticipate plays and then make smart, quick decisions.”

Nicouloudes considers being named the Central Times’ Female Athlete of the Year a large accomplishment.

“Central has a huge range of amazing female athletes,” Nicoloudes said. “This is a very nice accomplishment to have received my senior year, my last year at Central. I couldn’t be more grateful for my teammates, my coaches and everyone that has supported me throughout my senior season.”

Nicoloudes is continuing her water polo career at Augustana College at the Division III level and is majoring in neuroscience.