In an especially impressive performance this season, the girl’s water polo team claimed first place in the Sea View League this year.
The team played in Division III of the Sea View League, and won all eight of their league games. The regular season equally reflects success, as the team won 22 of their games while only sustaining 6 loses throughout the entire season.
The last match for league was an away game against Tesoro High School, which Aliso beat 7-4. That victory marked the end of the league and the official victory of the team that night.
Kate Burkitt (12), one of the two team captains, said, “Winning league was an incredible and emotional moment for me. As a senior captain, it felt rewarding to see all the hard work, early mornings and tough practices pay off.”
The team fought hard for their victory, facing challenging opponents such as Sunny Hills and Centennial High School, both of which are Division I teams. Overall, however, all the games were well played, with Aliso often emerging victorious.
Ellie Stagner (12), the other team captain, shared, “ I am so proud that our whole team put forth their best effort, and we secured the best record of any water polo team [Coach Werner] has ever coached.”
The historic performance has promoted the team up to Division II and to the South Coast League next season, a major achievement.
News of the team’s victory has spread as a larger influx of inspired athletes are joining the team, enabling the program to expand and even add a freshman/sophomore level. In the past, the Girls’ Water Polo only had a Junior Varsity and Varsity team.
It was only through hard work and training that the team was able to obtain such a good standing in the season.
Bella Peiffer (11), a varsity player, noted how particularly how intentional training and good feedback from the team captains, Stagner and Burkitt, were key to their success, “They help motivate us when we don’t want to keep doing something. They provide feedback on what happened in games and they [tell us important pointers].”
Peiffer had also highlighted the importance of strategizing for new plays, as competing schools are always trying to learn a team’s usual play.
Peiffer said, “School’s come and film us when we play games so they can know our moves, so we have to come up with new strategies in order to surprise them.”
Besides competing in the league, the team also participated in separate tournaments. In the Garden Grove Tournament, the team was able to win three of their four games, although they did not place in the top three. During the Central OC tournament, the team managed to snag third place.
Although the team had a strong performance throughout the season, the girl’s continuation into CIF was cut short in the first round against Centennial High School. Proving to be a tough opponent, Aliso took a loss of 19-9 during that away game.
Despite the end of Aliso’s run in CIF, the team is proud of their achievements this season, and continue to work hard to have an even better season next year.
