Girls water polo wins WACC
Girls varsity water polo started off the season with a close loss of 7-6 against Washington High School. But the Trojans remained optimistic and made a comeback winning the league championship against Berkeley Hornets at Encinal High School on Saturday Nov. 2.
“After our first game we worked on communication and team synchronization then we all started to bond well,” said co-captain Isabelle Nicole.
The Trojans marked the beginning of their journey to the league playoffs on Oct 26 with victories against Liberty, Granada, College Park and Castilleja placing first at the invitational. On Oct. 30 they moved into the semifinals against Alameda advancing with a score of 11-5. On Nov. 2, Trojans finally faced longtime rival Berkeley for the league championship title and won 6-2.
The team went into the league championship game motivated and ready to take the win.
“We worked the last week of practice with things we had specifically been struggling with, we know how to play water polo it was just the mindset we were all confident we just had to carry it out in the water,” stated goalkeeper Peyton Sklut.
Coach Bailey Barlow played a big part in driving players before they went into the match.
“Coach helped us stay calm and helped us stay in the game but made a big difference before we went into the water by giving us motivation,” said Nicole.
Among coaches, goalkeeper Sklut highlighted the championship game for fellow teammates Corinne Arakawa and Isabelle Nicole. Sklut, senior, is ranked 14th for saves in California and 19th nationally, achieving 261 in her 24/25 season.
“We all won the game together but we would truly be nothing without our goalie; she kept us all in that game mindset,” stated Arakawa.
In common the whole game was a highlight for Arakawa, Nicole and Sklut.
“Just the game itself was a highlight for me, we never won the league championship before,” said Nicole.
“We started off strong and we never gave up even when we’re up a big lead. Our energy stayed the same and did not go down,” said Sklut.
“We all worked together so well, everyone had their individual highlights but our dynamic was great, we were all hyping each other up. We were tied at first but we didn’t let it get us down,” said Arakawa.