This past weekend, Carleton’s club water polo team, The Righteous Babes, played their first home tournament of the term. The team has been training all year, so tournaments are always exciting culminations of hard work. The Righteous Babes hosted St. Olaf College, Grinnell College and Knox College at the Thorpe Pool in Carleton’s West Gymnasium. 

Captain Chloe Truebenbach ‘23 described how the season, and last weekend’s tournament, went: “So far this season, we won our first game against St. Olaf (The Rogue Waves) but lost the tournament this weekend. With our record being 1-1, our game against the Waves at the championship tournament this weekend will be a really fun game!”

For The Righteous Babes, competition and team membership is not just about winning. “The Babes are known for having the most fun energy in our division. I enjoy making new friends with all of our new players and with other teams and the positivity the Babes give off,”  captain Tori Winter ‘23 said. Trubenbach ‘23 echoed this sentiment: “We always say the best way to learn water polo is to just play water polo, so at tournaments, we always seem to get better with each game we play. I was so proud of everyone on the team! The seniors especially had some really great moments.” 

Tournaments are typically fun, high-energy environments, and they even feature halftime shows. Kristin Hultgren ‘23 said, “We’ve been told our halftime shows were a hit. [A teammate] brought in some of his friends [for a show involving] crowd giveaways and some special acts involving eating fruit. We also got to switch teams for a few of the games and compete against each other, which was fun!”

The Righteous Babes water polo team is open to any and all who are interested, regardless of experience level. Sophie Baggett ‘23 had never played water polo before joining the team but is grateful that she joined: “Water polo has always been a very welcoming space. It’s a fun way to be in the water and meet new people! I definitely did not expect to learn or start a new sport in college, but it’s been great.” 

Practices are open to all skill levels and genders, and generally focus on basic skill building as well as more complex drills, scrimmaging and games. Truebenbach emphasized the openness of the water polo team at Carleton: “Anyone is welcome to come to practice! We have a lot of people who come just to check it out or practice periodically. Once a Babe, always a Babe!” 

The Righteous Babes encourage anyone interested in joining to come to a practice or watch a tournament. They will also be hosting the Unicorn Invitational tournament during week 6.