Girls’ Water Polo Shines in Doubleheader
This past Saturday, the girls’ varsity water polo team traveled down to Connecticut to play a doubleheader against Choate and Williston. The girls played exceptionally well, and all squad members had great games. The girls managed to uphold their undefeated record, defeating both teams by narrow margins. Their game against Choate ended with a final score of 7-6, and the Williston game finished with the scoreboard showing an Exeter victory at 6-3.
Although the games weren’t necessarily won by as large a margin as other games, Big Red’s squad was still happy with their performance. “We won both games, but the Choate game was close,” upper Michelle Ysrael said of the weekend’s events. “But, we held our defense well towards the end of the match and managed to win by a single point.”
While all the girls played well, a few players in particular had outstanding performances. “[Senior] Corinne Noonan had some great drives and plays,” Ysrael said. “She earned most of our goals and really just played well overall.”
Senior Diane Lee also had a fantastic game, playing great defense and even regaining possession of the ball for a turnover many times. “It’s great to watch the seniors like Diane play,” prep Ally Grounds said. “It’s really good to be able to see them set an example of what to do and what not to do in the pool.”
The girls have had a bit of trouble adjusting to the various environments in which they’ve been required to play in. “All of our games have been in Connecticut, and the long drives throw us off a little,” Ysrael said. “We really have to focus during our games and not let that drive on the bus throw us off.”
The girls have clearly done a good job of that, as shown by their record. However, that hasn’t been the only issue. “We really need to get used to playing in shallow pools, since most of our opponents train in them,” Ysrael added.
“It kind of puts the girls at a disadvantage to train in a pool different than the one that they’ll be playing in,” said manager Quinn Hickey. “They’ve been adjusting well, though, and these games are good practice for them.”
The girls hope to continue their season in the same direction as it is going currently. “We have great team cohesion, and we work really well together, and with awesome coaching from Coach McTammany and Coach Pacific, we can only get better. I’m looking forward to that,” Ysrael said. “We couldn’t be doing better right now. If we stay focused and practice hard, I’m sure that we can finish off the season on a good note and play well in the rest of our games.”
“I have complete faith in the girls,” Hickey said. “They’ve played so well this season, and I have no doubt that they will continue to do so as we continue through the term.”