The Point Loma girls water polo team came together to win 17 games in the regular season, setting a school record and earning them a spot on the wall.
“We’ll get a banner in the big gym. It’s the first time water polo has been up there, so we’re excited,” senior goalie Morgunn Imlay said. “This is the best team I’ve ever played with, we’re all friends and play really great together.”
The girls will play in the CIF Tournament for only the second time in school history, and have been ranked 10th in the city, with their only league loss at Serra High School Feb. 8.Since the Pointers beat Serra at home, the teams will share the league title as co-champs.
They were hoping for a chance at the unshared title, with a perfect league record, but Serra has an established squad that has beaten teams decisively all season long, and the game at Tierra Santa Pool was a close loss for PLHS.The fact that Serra hadn’t lost a game in two and half years before the Pointers beat them at the Clairemont Pool this season is a testament to the great team.
“This is the first time for PLHS “” boys or girls “” in [the past 20 years] to be champs in water polo,” head coach Jerry Rich said. “The key is playing as a team “” defense, defense, defense “” that’s the thing with us.”
Water polo is a very fast moving sport, and a good one for spectators to watch, as there is almost constant action “” both above and below the water “” and the seats are generally very close to the pool so you catch every move. The games are also fairly quick, with four seven-minute quarters flying by in 35 to 45 minutes total, much more quickly than sports with frequent timeouts.
Even though the games are generally low scoring “” ten points is high “” there are shots on goal all the time, so watching the games is very engaging. The girls not only have endurance “” try treading water for a half-hour “” but can be very tough, dealing with eye-gouging, kicks and the occasional bloody nose.
“I enjoy the part of the game that is physical. I’m not normally a very aggressive person though,” senior Katiya Karczewski said. “The games are high-intensity, but short, my parents love it because they get so into it and yell a lot.”
The girls’ first CIF finals opponent was Mt. Carmel on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 5 p.m. The Pointers were the 12 seed in their bracket, playing the fifth-seeded team. Results of the game were not available by press time.
Should they win their first game, PLHS will play against either Mission Bay or University City High Saturday, Feb. 17, at 9:45 a.m., at La Jolla.
“We’re winners and we don’t let stuff get to our heads, which is good, we all have a positive attitude and always have a good outlook,” Imlay said. “The whole season was great, without all the great girls on the team it wouldn’t have been the same.”
For the seniors on the team this has been a great way to go out, on top of their game, lifting them to the gym rafters so their whole school can be proud of the job they did this season.