Girls' water polo ends season at CIF semifinals

Despite being ranked fourth in league after an undefeated record, girls water polo’s season came to an end after a loss to Ocean View High School in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

Samo girls’ water polo season came to an end after a loss to Ocean View High School in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) semifinals on Wednesday, Fr.  The team remained undefeated for the entire league season and had an overall season record of 19-11.

It is evident that throughout the years the players have progressed from not making it past the second round last year to planting a new checkpoint in the semi-finals this year.

The momentum to secure a fight in CIF finals didn’t come until the fourth quarter, partly due to a lack of fitness. The team went on to lose 8-4, concluding Samo’s season.

“There wasn’t any real passion,” Amalie Lueng Solli (’17) said. “We didn’t have enough energy coming in and there were so many opportunities to make a goal but it went over the goal every time.”

Their unity and motivation in pushing each other to work harder and become better players kept them undefeated throughout most of season.

“I don’t know if we have a specific weakness, but we have a tendency to play at the level of the teams we play so if a team is not so great we struggle to get our usual intensity,” Danielle Melamad (’15) said. “But we usually pick it up after the beginning of the game.”

According to Audrey Hattori (’17), Caoimhe Whitebloom(’15), Olivia Allen (’16) and Leah Gudentag (’15) were the key players this year. Whitebloom and Allen were the top goal scorers this year, with Whitebloom having 83 goals this season and Allen having 82 goals. Gudentag was their backbone throughout the whole season, providing solid defense in every play.

“I think we can go even further next year,” Lueng Soli said. “We have so much more to learn and hopefully next year we will be more prepared.”

The upcoming year looks bright for Samo, however. Unlike last year, they won’t suffer a large departure of seniors, and many of the players on the team are already big swimmers who are staying active throughout the whole year.