Girls' water polo ranked third in CIF

Sam ReamerStaff WriterAs girls’ water polo finishes their league season, it is apparent that the team has the potential to turn their dream of winning the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) competition into a reality. The Greenies currently hold a record of 3-2 in Ocean League, with both losses against El Segundo, who are ranked second in Division Six. Samo holds a close third place position.Sophomore Kiki Kravitz attributes the Greenie’s success this year to the work they put into their pre-season.“We did a lot of swimming, leg training and shooting during the pre season,” Kravitz said. “In addition, we did a lot of weight training with coach Kermit [Cannon]. Kermit put us over the edge with our strength, so we’re faster and can sustain longer during our games.”Junior Raschell Alvarez Zakson believes the reason the Greenies were able to accomplish so much in the pre-season was because of the team’s mentality and additional practices. In order to prepare for their league season, Samo participated in numerous off-season tournaments, including the Falcon Fall Cup Tournament in November, the Villa Park Classic in December and the Western Women’s Varsity Water Polo Tournament in January, where they received a third place trophy.“We were dedicated, motivated and excited during the pre-season, which was a great way to start off,” Zakson said. “Winning the trophy this winter really helped boost our morale and helped us realize how good we really are. It motivated us to prove to everyone what we are capable of.”The team’s foundation consists of several experienced players, including starting seniors Aleya Speilman, Felle Baumgarten, Fiona Ventura, Morgan Rodriguez and Sayana Hallal.Sophomore Annika Hattori said that the team is able to communicate well in games because of their strong friendship both in and out of the water.“Everyone on the team is really close. There’s no mean atmosphere, so we’re like sisters,” Hattori said. “Everyone  knows each other and what they’re capable of doing during a game.”Junior Jessie Espera insists that great chemistry can also be a disadvantage. According to Espera, the team’s friendship often causes players to rely on other team members too much.“Our weakness is shooting from the outside and not having the confidence to put every shot away,” Espera said. “We have more faith in our other teammates than in ourselves, so sometimes we won’t act aggressively.”Kravitz is confident that if the team uses their communication skills to execute their various plays, they will have the chance to earn CIF rings.“Our plays are our biggest strength, when we run our plays we have pretty good offense and defense,” Kravitz said.After loosing in their first game against El Segundo on Jan. 17, the Greenies moved from second to third ranking in their CIF bracket. Although hoping to redeem themselves in their second game against their rival on Feb. 2, the Greenies unfortunately lost once again.Despite this setback, senior Marina Krauss is still proud of the team, and believes that with enough determination, they could very well finish first in CIF.“Even though sometimes we mess up and we don’t think, we’re still are a really well-rounded team and so far the season has been really good,” Krauss said. “It feels good to be ranked third in CIF because we haven’t been ranked this high for a while. If we push ourselves hard enough we can hopefully get first.”According to Coach Flanders, in order for the Greenies to win, they need to focus on each individual game.“We’re doing great, but it’s still in our hands. We just have to work hard,” coach Mathew Flanders said. “We have to take it one game at a time until we get to play off. There’s not one team we can underestimate in CIF.”sreamer@thesamohi.com