With an overall record of 9-7, the Boys Varsity Water Polo team remains optimistic as it contends for the league title.
During the first day of the Ayala Tournament in August, the Rams won 9-8 in their game against Rowland and 9-4 against Alta Loma, but struggled the second day, losing 16-5 and 15-7 against Vista Murrieta and Rancho Cucamonga, respectively. The team only had seven players and was missing two starters, drastically affecting its performance.
In the game against the El Dorado Hawks on Sept. 8, the game was tied at a pressing 14-14, when Freshman Richard Fang scored the winning goal in the last few seconds, making the score 15-14.
In addition to the victories, on Sept. 15 during the game against Walnut High School, Senior Sideeq Mora tied the school record for goalies for most blocks in a single game. He made 23 saves, which let the Rams to pull forward with a 9-7 victory.
However, despite recent feats, with a new team composition, the Rams still face some challenges. Since the new members are adjusting to a Varsity rank, the team is still relatively inexperienced.
“This year’s team is very strong with a lot of talent, no doubt,” Senior Nathan Wong said. “We have a lot of underclassmen this year, so what we really lack is experience as a team. We all have a good number of years under our belt, but we just need to play more together so that we can move forward.”
As the season progresses, the team strives to maintain effective levels of communication to successfully function as a whole and finish as one of the top three teams in the Rio Hondo League. The Rams hope to emerge victorious, as they were close to victory last year.
“To win in the Rio Hondo League and progress far into the C.I.F., we show up to practice every day and work our hardest in order to improve our skills,” Senior Jacob Lewis said. “The team is getting better every day and we are surely better than the other teams in our league.”
To prepare for the season, the team amped its training to three hours of rigorous swimming and two hours of exercises involving ball movement and offensive and defensive plays five times a week.
“The six seniors on the team have really stepped up with their leadership skills and this has helped tremendously in our advancement,” Coach Davit Gharagyozyan said. “We are all a small family, but with the help of our athletic department and hard work from the boys, we are continuing to grow.”