Girls’ water polo learns from setbacks

Andrea Morgan-Chen / Contributor

Cathy Chen (’25) [left] throws a shot towards goal in Samo’s home game against Westlake High School.

This season of Varsity Girls' Water Polo began on Thursday, Nov. 30 with their game against Westlake High School. Samo's team is striving to continually improve game-to-game. With zero of four non-league games won so far, the team hopes to develop more throughout the season, which will end in late January. So far, players have been participating in scrimmages and friendlies, and will move on to play in league games starting on Jan. 11 with a match against Palos Verdes. Head Coach Matthew Flanders provides insight on team morale as the season begins.

"We never like to lose, but we know that we are a developing team that is still growing, so we try to learn from setbacks," Flanders said.

A standout player for girls' water polo this year is Serena Wu (’25) for her speed, defense skill and improved shot from last season. As she is a top scorer for the team, Flanders and Team Captains Sarah Linowes (’24) and Gigi Slavonia (’24) are excited to see Wu's confidence grow as an offensive player. 

Going into this season, Samo's team is experiencing success in practices, according to Linowes. Players are focusing on polishing fundamentals, including practicing strong defense to allow for improvement on offense strategies. Flanders highlighted the room for growth in strategy and technique that the team possesses, as well as some successful tactics the team has been trying including the Six/Five Play — a defensive move requiring an opposing player to divide their attention between defenders. Overall, team members look forward to enjoying new victories in their upcoming games. 

"We are really focused this year," Linowes said. "Each practice and game we are getting better and better."

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