Water Polo teams end season strong

Back+row%3A+Allyson+Vo%2C+Jessie+Bennett%2C+Sophia+Pietkiewicz%2C+Malia+Takei%2C+Alexis+Gobel%2C+Taarini+Hariharan%2C+Veronica+Show%3B+Sitting%3A+Arielle+Shnayder%2C+Parnika+Kant%2C+Jane+Zucker%2C+Payton+Hess

Back row: Allyson Vo, Jessie Bennett, Sophia Pietkiewicz, Malia Takei, Alexis Gobel, Taarini Hariharan, Veronica Show; Sitting: Arielle Shnayder, Parnika Kant, Jane Zucker, Payton Hess

Risheek Priyadarshi, Editor-in-Chief

Both of the water polo teams finished the season strong—the girls’ team won 6 out of the 14 matches, while the boys’ team won 9 out of 13. This was a large improvement compared to previous years for both teams. Additionally, the boys placed second overall in the league.

Despite losing a talented group of seniors and spending time training new athletes, the girls were able to pick up their pace early in the season. Additionally, they girls received a new coach this season.

“The beginning of this season was really rough because we had lost some of our best players last year and we were figuring out how to work together as a team and teaching some of the newer players the sport,” captain Alexis Gobel (12) said. “Progressively throughout the season we had a lot of improvements and it showed in our games and we started winning more.”

The girls’ communication and ability to recognize each others’ playing styles helped them win several of their matches.

Captain Aaron Mack (12) attributes the boys’ success to the team’s ability to cohesively work together.

“The team was better this year than any team since my freshman year,” Mack said. “I think what made this year really amazing was that the team played played like a team instead of a bunch of talented individuals.”

The boys won against Logan twice and were close to making it to the North Coast Section (or NCS).

Captain Cody Pappa (11) thinks there is still room for improvement in their teamwork for next year.

“We just need to work on moving our players around the field and getting the ball to them so they can score.”