Girls water polo drowns the doubters

Despite some tough losses, Samo’s varsity girls water polo had one of their most interesting seasons yet. They saw difficulties with unity, uptakes in offensive skills and a deficient defense. Through this, however, they were able to maintain a strong team record. It’s because of this that the team has come out of the season with a 7-1 Ocean League title and 16-14 CIF record.Still, their season is nowhere near the impressiveness that last year’s season brought, which is a popular sentiment that the teammates share.“While we have improved in some areas we are still finding trouble in finding any unity. We’ve gotten better but it has definitely hindered our season,” Captain Arielle Melamed (’18) said. Much of Samo’s success has be attributed to their hyper-focus and hard work this season.“We didn’t let anything stray from our sport,” goalie Emma Ware (’18) said. “We really put all our effort in and I think that came out in our games.”According to Water Polo coach Matt Flanders, they have really honed in on working offensively. He believes part of their success is due to this advantage.With the season behind them, they are now focused on their goals for next year.“For next year, we want to win league and move on to CIF,” Flanders said.