As we approach the beginning of winter, we also see the end of fall sports including football, flag football, cheer, pom, women’s volleyball, tennis, golf, and finally, water polo. Although both the girl’s and boy’s seasons ended with unfortunate losses to San Ramon, the teams still achieved many wins throughout the season.
On October 26, the boy’s water polo team lost to SRV by a final score of 8-7. Most of the matches ended up with a close score, but on September 14, the boys team surprised everyone when they defeated Dublin 31-2, their highest scoring match.
“We played well because we’ve been playing together as a team,” said sophomore Nishant Patel.
The boys team ended the season with an overall record of 21-6, winning three games at home, eleven games away, and seven at a neutral site. With the season ending, six seniors will be leaving and the team will take a new course next year.
“We will be good but maybe not as good when the seniors leave,” said sophomore Mitchell Richards on the boys team, “Because they were important.”
The girls team also played SRV on October 26, and lost 15-5.
“I think we didn’t play as well as we hoped because we just weren’t playing our normal game,” said Abby Buttery, a sophomore on the girl’s team, “Getting nervous just affected how we played.”
The girls team ended their season with a win-loss ratio of 13-12, four wins at home and four games away, and five at a neutral site. With the season ending, the team will lose four seniors next year after graduating. “It will be a different dynamic and a different team,” Buttery said. “They’ve just been a part of the team for so long.”
Both of the teams advanced to the NCS, the tournament that began in November. On November 2, the first round took place. The boy’s team had a bye while the girl’s team won their first match with Amador Valley 14-6. On November 4, the boy’s team lost to College Park 10-8 in the quarter finals. The girls team also lost in the quarter-finals to Northgate with a close score of 9-8.
A key player on the girls team is senior Maile Turner. Turner has been on varsity since her freshman year and also plays club water polo for Diablo Alliance. Turner plays center and center defender, but when she played in Australia last winter, she also played driver and attacker.
Turner has received scholarship offers from Cal, the University of Hawaii, UCLA and has talked to Ivy League schools and Stanford. Turner decided UCLA was the best school for her and has committed to playing for them next year. “My dad always told me coaches change, programs can be dropped, so it’s all about the teammates and who you’re going to be associating yourself with, and I love the girls at UCLA” said Turner. Her favorite game this season was senior night against Amador, winning 14-6 and being able to have her family and friends there with her. Turner plans on going pro after college, and hopes to play in Australia and London.
