Girls water polo wins CIF Champtionship title

After losing in the semifinals of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) last year, the Greenies were able to avenge themselves this year by being crowned as the first girls water polo CIF champions in Samo history.On Saturday, Feb. 27, the girls managed to bring the CIF title home as they defeated Westridge High School 8-6.“It feels great to be champion, finally,” coach Matthew Flanders said. “Our team played great team defense, which forced errors we were able to convert.”In Ocean League, the girls were able to remain undefeated with a final record of 8-0. However, this is not peculiar for the Vikings as they have been able to remain undefeated in league play for the last three years.According to head coach Matthew Flanders, their off-season was instrumental in their success this year as the girls have maintained a mutual relationship in and out of the pool with their experience on the club level.“As the season progressed, we grew tighter as a team,” Alyssa Hattori (’17) said. “We were able to get a better sense of each other’s movement in the game, and just knowing where our teammates are.”Furthermore, according to Olivia Schwartz (’16), besides their chemistry, several other components of their game have been improving, such as their awareness on defense.“We've become more aware on where the ball is all the time and how to properly assess the new situation each possession,” Schwartz said.Another key factor to their successful season is the versatility that they have on their roster.“We’re more balanced than other teams,” Flanders said. “Our starting six is pretty interchangeable. Other teams have more timid girls, but we tend to have a more balanced attack.”Winning the CIF Girls Water Polo Championship for the first time in Samo’s history is a very exciting revelation for the future of the girls water polo program. With lots of hard work and time put into the season, the Vikings have come out as victors, and will put effort into continuing the winning streak going into the next season.