Williston girl’s water polo is more than just a team, it’s a family.
The team, led by senior captains Juno Aselton and Lucy Hoyt, has had an unforgettable 2025 season, with many ups and downs. At the end of this season, the team had a 5-7 record with notable wins over Loomis Chaffee, Deerfield Academy and Phillips Andover Academy.
The team won the NEPSAC championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Through their leadership, accompanied by a fearless coaching duo, the team is closer than ever before.
Coach Bill Berghoff, lovingly known as “Bergs,” is the head coach of the Girls and Boys Varsity Water Polo teams. The girls team at Williston was established in 1994; however, Berghoff has been coaching water polo at preparatory schools since the fall of 1986. He began as the assistant coach for the boys team at Wilbraham and Monson for two years, followed by a head coach job for five years on the Suffield boys team, 16 years with the Choate girls team. He started at Williston in 2011. Berghoff is assisted by coach Emily McDowell, a college counselor who has been working at Williston for 24 years.
Berghoff views the 2025 season fondly.
“[There was] lots of growth, and one of the things I was really happy with was how competitive we were in all our games,” he said. “Win or lose, we were always pretty happy with our efforts. I think that a little bit of challenge and difficulty made everybody much tighter as a group and certainly made us stronger as a group.”
Lucy Hoyt, a captain and five-year senior from Hatfield, Mass., has a similar perception. She acknowledges the feelings that accompany the team coming down from such a high.
“Coming from being such a dominant team to then losing a lot of players can be really disheartening,” Lucy admitted. “I personally feel like as the team in the whole we did a really good job at staying positive, which was my one goal entering the season.”
She also highlighted the importance of team community and camaraderie.
“Even though we might not have done as well as we have done in past years, we were still able to have the team be exactly what it always has been and be a really safe space for a lot of girls,” Lucy noted.
“I think we were able to [keep] a positive environment even though we were not winning as much. I really am hopeful that they will be able to continue that tradition of being such a valuable place for a lot of girls, whether we win a championship or not.”
The team has had a recent history of success, having won three consecutive NEPSAC championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Juno Aselton, a captain and four-year boarder from Brooklyn, Mass., is the only member of the team who is playing collegiate water polo this fall. She will be attending Connecticut College, located in New London, Conn., to play on the division three women’s team.
“Our season was a lot different than the past ones. Berghoff said in his closing statements on senior day that we were the happiest losing team he had ever seen,” said Juno. “I think [the returners] set a strong foundation for the newer kids who understand that it’s more important to grow as a team and have fun than it is to win constantly.”
“Rather than competing with each other, we lifted each other up constantly,” she added.
