Splash from the past: water polo alumni game
Sydney Roker, Staff Writer
On Friday, Nov. 26, Samo’s water polo teams participated in their annual alumni water polo game which brings both current and past players together for a series of reminiscent matches. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the alumni game was canceled last year, making this year’s game even more of a grand reunion for many of the players. The alumni played various games alongside current members of Samo’s varsity water polo teams, extending a tradition that has been run by Samo water polo coach Matthew Flanders (’89) for the past 26 years.
The event consisted of four games, the first two with the female players split into four teams, and the final two with male players split into four teams. Each of the eight teams consisted of a mix of both alumni and current players, some teams having players with graduation years up to 27 years apart! The evening ended with an extremely competitive match with both teams within a point of each other at the end of every quarter. By the end, the two teams were tied. The players enthusiastically agreed to extend the match into overtime, and the game concluded with a score of 17-16.
Emma Guerrini Romano (’20) wanted to participate in the alumni water polo game for a chance to play the sport again as well as the opportunity to see her younger friends she played with during her time at Samo.
“I think the alumni game benefits current players because it can give them a sense of the skill level they can achieve if they pursue the sport after high school,” Guerrini Romano said.
Given that a number of the alumni continued the sport in college and were high school All Americans as well as CIF champions, it is fair to say the current Samo water polo players were able to benefit from competing alongside such highly skilled athletes.
Flanders touched on the importance of keeping the tradition of the alumni water polo game alive.
“It is important for the young kids to see the success of the adults that have gone through the same crucible as they have. It is important for the adults to keep up high school friendships. It is important that the core values of the team, hard work and dedication, are communicated from generation to generation,” Flanders said.
Samo athletics twitter /Contributor