Boys Varsity Water Polo Finish EYL Season as Undefeated Champs

The Redwood Rangers Boys Varsity Water Polo team successfully defended their EYL crown, finishing with a record of 10-0. Players share their thoughts on the league season and championship.

By: Lucas de Lima

Following an undefeated start to their EYL (East Yosemite League) season, the Redwood Rangers finished the job by winning all of their rematches in the second half, finishing as undefeated EYL champs for the second year running, and their third league championship in the past four seasons.

For their first game of the second half, the Rangers traveled to face the Porterville Panthers on Thursday, October 17th. The Rangers pulled through with a 10-9 victory, their closest game of the EYL season.

#4 David Ross, ’25, says, “That was a really tough game. Three out of our six starters were ejected, so we were playing down a lot. But our bench came through and they helped us out to secure the win.”

On their senior night on Tuesday, October 22nd, the Rangers played next game against the Monache Marauders, which they handled easily 18-4.

#5 Sam Feierbach, ’25, says, “[Senior Night] was fun. It feels surreal. They say high school goes fast and you never really realize it, but it went by fast. It seemed like last year I was a freshman watching the seniors do senior night, and now it’s me. It just doesn’t feel real.”

Their final three games of EYL were all away against the city rivals. Their first one was against the Golden West Trailblazers on October 24th, winning 18-10 on the Blazers senior night.

“The game against Golden West was definitely the best game of league. I like playing at their pool, it’s a cool environment. It’s always fun going over there and beating them. They’re good sports about it. We play club with most of the guys, it’s fun,” says Feierbach.

On the following Tuesday, October 29th, the Rangers beat the Miners 20-3. On the match, Feierbach says, “We walked into that game knowing we were going to beat El D. Just trying to play a pretty respectable game.”

The Rangers ended their EYL season with a win over their eternal rivals the Mt. Whitney Pioneers in their senior night by a score of 16-5, wrapping up their second straight undefeated EYL season.

On beating teams on their senior night, Ross says, “It feels great. I feel like a villain. I love it to be honest.”

The final game of EYL was special for Feierbach for a different reason. “Last game against Whitney was pretty fun, I got to play with my brother (Sef Feierbach, ’27). They pulled up a bunch of the brothers on JV to play with their brothers on varsity,” says Feierbach.

#9 Joseph Dlugonski, ’26, says, “It feels great. It feels like I’m part of something big. It feels like we’ve been a solid team for a while.”

Although they finished undefeated, not all of the wins came easy. Ross says, “We know we can win every game, but it’s not certified, like how we only beat Porterville by one.

Throughout the course of the season the team has evolved from its summer team bonding experiences to their league season successes.

On what has changed with the team, Ross says, “The team chemistry has improved a lot. We’ve gotten a lot more used to each other. We’re really in sync, and we know what we’re going to do without having to say it, so it helps a lot.”

Due to their league triumphs and preseason resume, the Rangers qualified for the Central Section Division II playoffs as the #2 seed in the bracket, setting themselves up with a first round matchup against the Tulare Union Tribe, who are the #15 seed.

Redwood had a dominant performance versus the Tribe and won the game 23-4. The Rangers advanced to the second round and will now play against the #7 seed Bullard Knights on Saturday, November 9th, at 11AM at the Golden West pool.

For their playoff mindset, Dlugonski says, “Our mentality is we got to play tough, we got to play hard, like we have been. Whenever we do that we win by a lot, and we can’t underestimate any team.”

No matter how the Rangers fare in the playoffs, the undefeated EYL season will stand as a great achievement in their season.

Feierbach says, “10-0. You can’t ask for much more than that.”

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