Jamie Kim co-editor-in-chief
The boys varsity water polo team beat the Garden Grove High School Argonauts in the second round of the 2017 Division 7 CIF-SS Division 7 Boys Water Polo Championships by a close score of 14-12.
This win allowed the team to advance to the quarterfinals.
“In my three previous years on water polo, the team never made CIF, so to see such a long and successful run as a senior is gratifying and pretty incredible. It would be amazing if we could hang up a banner at the end of the season,” co-captain Jonathan Artal said.
Artal expressed high hopes for the rest of the journey in the CIF championships due to the team’s dedication and hard work.
“Everyone on the team had an incredible performance today. Garden Grove was very strong, but we were able to score consistently and stop them on defense when we needed to,” Artal said. “I think our win was the culmination of so much hard work and effort the team has put in this season. From morning practice to games late at night, players have committed and worked as a team to succeed. I can’t wait for us to keep going.”
Junior Severyn Segal, who scored two goals, remains optimistic for the next game.
“I’m feeling very confident going into Saturday’s game. The team played really well together so I have no doubts that we will win,” Segal said.
Co-captain Ryan Abrishami believes that the team pushed each other to give their all in the water.
“Every time the water polo team walks into the Swim Gym and we see the basketball CIF banners hanging up, we stare in awe knowing that we too want to leave a mark on this school,” Abrishami said. “That’s what motivated us to win this game.”
Quarterfinals take place this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Santa Monica High School against Valley View High School.