The Girls’ Water Polo team has completed their regular season with a record of 16-9. During league, they battled it out with a record of 6-2, only losing to Capo Valley. Up next, the girls have their eyes set on winning CIF.
Besides the Capo Valley Cougars, the Tesoro Titans proved tough competition for the Wolverines. Coach Werner previously mentioned that their games against the Titans would most affect their league standings.
The game was close from the beginning; at the end of the first quarter, it was tied at 1-1. When the second quarter began, the Wolverines started to pull away from the Titans, the score ending the quarter at 3-2. The Wolverines kept their lead in the third and fourth quarters, guaranteeing them second place in the Sea View League.
On Friday, Feb. 7, girls’ water polo will compete in round two of CIF in a 32-team bracket. Their first game will be against a private school, the Crean Lutheran Saints. The Saints are currently 12-7 in regular season games and 4-0 in the North Hills League.
Head Coach Danny Werner says, “Crean is a division six school in water polo, meaning their team is not as competitive as ours. I am almost one hundred percent certain that we will beat them.”
When competing in CIF, most teams are typically significantly better than teams one would face in regular and league season games and tournaments. To help prepare the athletes, the practices become twice as intense. The main focus is installing new plays. These new plays have never been seen on film, so when game time comes around, the girls can surprise their opponents with new plays.
Varsity player Cara Eluna (10) says, “These are the hardest practices we’ve had all season. Our swim sets are quicker and longer, and we learn new plays. We are also required to go; if we don’t, we don’t get any playing time for the rest of the playoffs.”
Another way of preparing for CIF games is to look back on some of the hardest games that were fought. These games allow the players to reflect on what they need to work on in games specifically (as opposed to in general) and see what the team needs to work on as a whole.
Coach Werner says, “Games we always look back on are our Capo games. They were the most memorable games of the season. They are also the games we expect to face when competing in CIF.”
The Wolverines played the Cougars on Dec. 19 and Jan. 7. In both games, they lost by only one point. During those games, the Wolverines were missing some of their key players, but they continued to battle no matter what. Despite the loss, Coach Werner and the players were happy about how the game played out.
If the girls beat the Saints, they will compete in the quarter-finals on Feb. 12.
