By: Katie Nelson and Ainsley Northrop

Media Production Editor and People Editor

Concluding with a ninth consecutive league title, the Girls Varsity Water Polo season came to an end. After a week filled with wins against Fremont and Castilleja, the girls faced off against Palo Alto on Saturday, Oct. 28. Fighting all four quarters, the team defended their title as league champions. Holding Paly to only two goals the entire game, the girls made a statement about their powerful defense, while continuing to execute offensively. 

Captain and senior Karly Frangieh explained, “We came out with a really positive attitude…We wanted it more.” Senior Bella Shedroff attributed the team’s success to the tight bond the girls have with one another. She detailed, “Everything clicked. And I think that since we’re just such a close team, everything has gotten so much easier to improve upon.” 

After league championships, the girls geared up for their postseason matchup in the open division. Due to an unfortunate seventh seeding, the girls played the second seed early on. On Nov. 4 during the CCS quarterfinal game, the girls fell to Leland 4-10. 

Junior Julia Ernsting reflected, “The loss to Leland was hard, but I could not be more proud of this team. We all knew we had nothing to lose going into the game so everyone played their hearts out. I love our seniors and am very sad that was my last high school game with them, but I will make sure that next year has the same community as this year.” Reminiscing on the season, Frangieh concluded, “I’m just going to miss that team dynamic…this [year was] just really special.”

For the first time in LGHS history, the Boys Varsity Water Polo Team ended their regular season with a league ranking of first and an impressive record of 12-0, earning them third seed in CCS. Reflecting on their improvement, senior and co-captain Liam Amburgey explained, “Being able to witness the growth of the team from the first few practices to now has been really awesome. We at first felt a lot like just a collection of players and now I think we’ve built such an amazing rapport.”

Following Leagues, the boys quickly got to work practicing — nearly three hours a day — for their first CCS game against Valley Christian, which they won 12-8. This win marked the farthest a public school has ever gone in boys open CCS. Additionally, this win guaranteed the boys a spot in NorCals, a tournament for the top teams of Northern California. 

Junior Jacob Weber commented on their preparation for CCS, saying, “We have a lot of film that we’ve been watching. [For CCS], we all [had] our player that [we’d] be matching up with…We watched them personally to see what they do so [we’d] know how to stop them.” Following their first CCS win, the boys played Sacred Heart in the semifinals and, despite losing, played an incredible game.

The team largely credited their record-breaking achievements to their intense team spirit. Weber detailed, “There’s so much motivation on this team because there’s so many new things that have been going on. We’ve never been to a league finals and this year we won leagues…we know this is the last year we have some of our very good seniors so we have to make the most of it.” After a hard-fought game versus De La Salle in NorCals, the boys concluded their season with an overall record of 25-4. A product of the team’s hard work, the 2023 season will go down in history as the LGHS boys’ most successful season yet.