Kirsti Neidig and Jordan Scheffler started as rivals in high school.
They would see each other at water polo camps and tournaments, but their relationship went no deeper than a “Hey, how’s it going?”
Little did they know, they would end up leading the Oregon Club Women’s Water Polo team to several successful seasons after traveling similar paths.
Both Duck seniors attended Oregon high schools and received scholarships to attend Division I schools in California. Neidig attended Sheldon High School and received an academic scholarship to California-San Diego, while Scheffler attended Ashland High School and received a water polo scholarship to Long Beach State. Both seemed to be heading in their desired directions, when after one year, each decided it was time to move on.
Both athletes transferred to Oregon for their sophomore years to focus on academics, though Scheffler’s path was anything but direct. After realizing LBSU wasn’t for her, Scheffler decided to play water polo at Michigan. The decision held for less than a week, though, as future plans to attend dental school made academics a priority.
“It was crazy,” Scheffler said. “I was literally there for three days.”
Since no Oregon schools feature Division I water polo, the pair found club water polo as a fix for their competitive urges.
“It allows me to be aggressive,” Neidig said of water polo. “It’s really physically demanding and every day you come out dead tired.”
After joining the team during their sophomore seasons, the two didn’t wait long to contribute, helping the Ducks to a second place finish at regionals and a fourth place finish at their national tournament. A year later, the pair had developed quite the friendship and led the Ducks to a regional tournament championship, a 10th place finish at nationals.
“We have a strong bond between the two of us,” Scheffler said. “We’re always there for each other.”
This year, the Ducks were disappointed with how their season ended. After winning their seeding tournament in Corvallis, the Ducks finished third in the Northwest regional tournament, losing to rival Washington in the semi-finals. This year, only teams that won their respective regions qualified for the national tournament.
“We were the best team in the regional tournament,” Oregon head coach Jeff Lee said. “We just didn’t bring our ‘A’ game when we needed to.”
Lee said it was especially disappointing because he feels Neidig and Scheffler were the best players in the region at the two-meter offensive position and fellow senior Amanda Studdard was the best goalie in the region.
Despite not making the tournament, there have been many positives to come out of the Ducks’ season. The friendship between Neidig and Scheffler spread throughout the entire team.
“This is by far the best team I’ve ever played with,” Scheffler said. “We’re like a big group of sisters.”
The Ducks expect a strong nucleus of returning players next season, led by sophomore Samantha Bund. If returning players can pick up on the competitive nature left by Neidig and Scheffler, next year’s Duck team will be just fine.
“During practice I would have (Neidig and Scheffler) play on opposite teams so they could compete against each other,” Lee said. “In games, they knew where the other one was without having to look.”