Jamie Kim co-editor-in-chief
The varsity boys water polo team hosted Thousand Oaks High School on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 3:00 p.m. The Normans lost to the Lancers by a slim margin of 16-17.
Senior co-captain Jonathan Artal thought that despite the loss, the team showed much improvement in technique and stamina.
“Although we lost today, all of our games have been very competitive. This is the third game we’ve had where we’ve won or lost by only one point, and we’re beating teams that last year were blowing us out,” Artal said. “Today we saw a lot of improvement in terms of scoring in the half court, getting back in transition for defense, making extra passes and trusting our teammates.”
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Junior co-captain Ryan Abrishami hopes that the entire team can also learn from today for future match-ups.
“I think there are many little errors that we can fix to change the outcome of the game, such as cleaner passes or stronger shots. I think with more practice, we can go on to improve these mistakes and hopefully make it to CIF,” Abrishami said.
Specifically, Artal hopes the team can work on defense and strength.
“Offensively, this was probably our best game yet. We just need to focus on playing stronger defense and getting physically stronger in the water. Hopefully we can learn from today and improve as the season goes on,” Artal said.
Nevertheless, the team remains optimistic about its prospects for the season.
“I was really proud of my team during this game. Even though we lost, we all learned that water polo is not a one man sport, but rather a group effort,” Abrishami said. “I believe our teamwork was definitely shown in this game against Thousand Oaks.”