Being a Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience major is a feat on its own, but Riley Hull has not stopped there. The Villanova sophomore is not just on one varsity roster, but two. In the fall, she competes on the Swimming and Diving team, and in the spring semester, she plays as an attacker for the women’s Water Polo team.
The California native is clearly passionate about swimming, as she competes in two aquatic sports at a Division I level. Hull was playing both sports competitively by the time she was seven, and began swimming at the age of five. Hull recalls swimming better than she could walk as a child.
“Learning how to eggbeater and having the endurance to do it for so long is just really important.” Hull said. “A lot of the time, when I was really young, I would play the splash ball version of it, where you can stand on the ground on the bottom of the pool.”
Water polo is not a common sport found in elementary and middle schools, even in California.
However, her parents wanted her to be a more well-rounded athlete, so Hull decided to give a land sport a try. During her first two years at Helix Charter in La Mesa, CA, Hull was a three-season athlete.
“I decided to try field hockey, and that was really fun,” Hull said. “I’m really grateful for those two years. It was a fun team to be on, and I learned a lot about just kind of how to be on a team and what other sports are like.”
Ultimately, she realized her passion was still in the water. Throughout high school, she would have swim practice in the morning, water polo for Helix in the afternoon and then La Jolla United club team later in the evening.
She would do that five days a week, along with meets and tournaments on the weekend. Hull never had to choose which practice to attend, but when it came to competitions, she would consider the logistics. A large regional swim meet was worth missing a small water polo game.
Hull ultimately graduated as Valedictorian of her high school class and Water Polo Player of the League in 2024. She currently still holds the Helix Charter school record for most goals in a single season with 119.
Both sports were incredibly important to Hull, so she knew that choosing one was not an option. Hull began searching for colleges that would let her pursue both of her passions. Many said no, but Villanova answered her wishes.
“The more I thought about it, you know, the more it just made sense to allow her to do that,”women’s water polo head coach Michael Gordon said. “It really helps her conditioning level, helps her fitness level, and then obviously helps the swim team out as well.”
Gordon realized her determination to out-work her competitors and tenacity to lead by example. He offered her a spot on the team and she quickly committed.
“The way that she trains and her approach to the game, it made it really clear that she was a player that I really wanted to have at Villanova,” Gordon said.
Gordon then helped Hull get in contact with Swim and Dive coach, Rick Simpson.
“I could never pursue both of my greatest passions without them, and I’m so grateful for them allowing me to just be able to do what I love here,” Hull said. “It just feels so special to be the bridge that connects the two and to just have so many teammates and loving friends.”
Coming off her inaugural season, Hull was named the MAC Rookie of the Year for water polo, and also recorded personal bests in 1000 free and 1650 free this past swim season.
“It definitely inspires teammates to work as hard, try to work as hard as her,” Gordon said.
“It’s hard to work as hard as her, as hard as she does.”
Water Polo is coming off a stellar weekend after defeating Siena, Iona and Mount St. Mary’s. Hull and her teammates are set to play in the MAAC Championship Tournament starting on April 11 in Poughkeepsie, NY.
