To those of us not well-versed in aquatic sports, water polo evokes an image of basketball players throwing a ball into a net while somehow managing to stay afloat.  Water polo is considered by many an underappreciated sport, an unknown sport.  Water polo players are taking this all in stride by attempting to publicize the sport more.

“Most of our players are in the swim team,” says Varsity player Mindy Chin.  “We are trying to branch out and attract people who normally would have gone out for cross country or even gymnastics.”

Since Irvington doesn’t have an actual water polo pool, practices are usually held in American High.  This has diminished the visibility of water polo players a lot as many other athletes do not see the team practicing on Irvington’s campus.

“I only found out we had a guys water polo team during Pigskin,” says sophomore Diana Chen, a member of the girls’ tennis team.

If winning matches is one way to publicize water polo, both Varsity and JV teams on the Girls and Boys side are doing a good job of it.  Both JV and Varsity girls defeated American, and Varsity additionally defeated Logan 7-3.  Last year, the Varsity Girls team lost a devastatingly close match against main rival Logan. Each Varsity team has only 10 players so player absences can hit the team hard.
“It was a really satisfying victory for the girls,” says Girls’ Captain Krista Chan, 12.

Girls’ Coach Kat Ashley says, “This team is very unique and has a lot to offer! They work so hard and everyone of these girls bring something special and valuable to this team. As a coach I couldn’t have asked for better teams.”

The Boys teams aren’t doing too shabby either. Varsity Boys have won every single game, save one with JV Boys winning every single game except for Mission and Washington. This year, the Varsity Boys Team managed to defeat Mission, last year’s MVAL Champs.

Currently the Varsity Boys Team is looking to become MVAL Champs.  Is this the year where IHS will triumph over MSJ? Only time will tell.