By: Erik Rico
Coming off of an East Yosemite League (EYL) Title, the Lady Rangers look to continue the success this year by leaving their mark in the pool.
VISALIA- The Redwood Women’s Water Polo team has played three games so far this year, losing in their first game of the year to Reedley High School. The team then went on to win against Kingsburg on August 16th and a loss on the 18th vs Tulare Western.
Team Captain Clare Gonzales ’24 was honest about how the season has started, saying, “I can see us getting better, so I just think it’s going to take some time, but we’re definitely getting there. The team picks up things really fast, so as soon as we work on it, everyone understands it, so we just need to hit all the points that we’re lagging on a little bit, and then by league we should be really good.”
Star Sprinter and Attacker, Emelia Rasner ’25 also has a positive outlook on what the team has done so far this season. Rasner says, “I think we have started the season really well, our team is pretty new, so we’re developing and getting to know each other. It’s pretty hard because a lot of seniors graduated so we’re a much younger team.”
Gonzales also points out that the team has shown potential, saying, “We did well in our game against Kingsburg, but we need to work on our conditioning, and we also need to work on defense and reading situations and acting accordingly.”
The team last year consisted of 9 seniors, with 2 leaders Hannah Kempf ’23 (who will be playing at Cuesta College) and Eliza Howard ’23. Rasner looks to step up into that role this year, saying, “Now that I’m an upperclassmen, I want to become a leader.” The team last year went 23-6 with a 9-1 record in league before losing in the 3rd round of the division two playoffs to Morro Bay.
Rasner led the team in goals last year with 120, and also helped assist Gonzales with goals, as they were some of the top scorers on the team. The two are both looking forward to one rival that was their only blemish on the EYL schedule, Golden West. The Rangers play the Trail Blazers at home on October 5th and at Golden West on the 24th.
League play begins on September 26th at home vs El Diamante. Click here to view the full schedule. Gonzales and Rasner both share a consensus team goal: “win EYL and go deep into the playoffs.”
Erik Rico
Erik Rico '25, is a first year journalist for the Redwood Gigantea. He plans to live in the sports section hoping to cover all aspects of Redwood Athletics. His hobbies include baseball, football, and traveling. He looks forward to attending as many Ranger Athletic events as possible.
Tags: Erik Rico, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, redwood sports, rhs, visalia ca, water polo
