Water polo team makes history after coach’s death

LEBANON, Ill. (First Alert 4) – The McKendree women’s water polo team is having its best year in program history.

With a 21-7 record, the Bearcats are NCAA Tournament bound, a moment that’s been eight seasons in the making.

“This program has put in a lot of work to get here,” said McKendree senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane.

“When I saw that time run to zero, everything came out,” said McKendree senior attacker Jasmin Guzman.

The moment marked the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth, something longtime head coach Colleen Lischwe had always dreamt of.

“I remember I was talking to Colleen my sophomore year and she said her dream was to get to the NCAA tournament,” said Guzman.

Lischwe never saw that dream become a reality, as she died in a car crash on January 15, 2025, just 10 days before the team’s first game this season.

“It was tough, we heard news on a Wednesday,” said Kane. “Saturday, Sunday we spent the whole day together as a team and we knew we had to get right back into it. Monday, we jumped back in the pool and had our first practice, got it out of the way. We all mourned and grieved together as a team.”

“There was no manual for what to do, so I think taking it step by step and going at the pace that felt right for us,” McKendree women’s water polo head coach Alex Figueras said.

Figueras stepped in as interim head coach to lead this group of women the Lischwe way.

“Nothing really changed in my mind in terms of what we wanted to do, we just kind of had a little extra push,” he said.

“Emotionally, we were driven by the motivation that she instilled within us,” added Kane.

With Coach Lischwe in mind, the Bearcats made history and are one of nine teams in the national tournament.

“At the end of the day, pretty much all the credit for this goes to her,” said Figueras.

Her pregame speech still lives through this team every day.

“Before every game, I think in my head this thing she would say is ‘I love you, I trust you have fun,’” Kane said.

McKendree’s national tournament journey begins on Wednesday, May 7 vs. Wagner.

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