By: Ellie Gilbert and Brooke Hacker
Redwood Women’s Water Polo closed their WYL season with yet another win. The 2021 season marks the 11th consecutive win for the girls.
The Redwood Women’s Water Polo Team has clearly put a lot of effort into completing this season.
Finlee Morgan ‘22 says, “Winning this year was amazing, especially since we were deprived of a season last year.”
Just like any other sports team, there are obstacles that teams need to overcome. While fighting to win WYL, the team believes that keeping a good mentality throughout the season is key.
Morgan says, “At the beginning of our season, our team lacked confidence which made some wins that should have been easier, harder.” As it is completely normal for a team to struggle with confidence, Morgan also says, “It all dissolved as we progressed and saw our improvement.”
Since the Redwood Women’s Water Polo Team had beat Mt. Whitney in the past, they were confident that they would take another win this year.
Clare Gonzales ‘24 says, “The end of that game had solidified our win and that made us all really happy.” Their success against Mt. Whitney is what ultimately led to their victory in WYL.
The girls showed dominance over the course of the season. Although most games seemed like it came easy for them to win, El Diamante High School (EDHS) was Redwood’s hardest competition.
Gonzales says, “The most challenging part was playing EDHS because they were our toughest competition. All the other teams were beatable, but EDHS, we knew we had to play on our A-game. So, we were proud when we beat them twice.”
The girls gained more confidence as the season went on, which helped them as they went into their first game of playoffs.
However, this sense of confidence slowly drifted away as they entered their first game of playoffs.
Morgan mentions, “I noticed a tangible shift in mentality throughout the team as we shifted into playoffs.” Although this change occurred on the water polo team, their hard work and dedication was much appreciated.
The ladies represented Redwood well, despite their loss in playoffs.
Redwood plans on keeping their streak for WYL in the future seasons.
Morgan says, “Our aquatics holds a lot of pride in our consecutive and sometimes completely undefeated WYL championships.”
Ellie Gilbert
Ellie Gilbert '24 is currently a second year Sports Journalist for the Redwood Gigantea. Ellie is also part of the Varsity Soccer team.
Email: ellis.gi4412@vusd.us
Tags: girls water polo, rangers, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, redwood sports, redwood water polo, rhs, visalia ca, WYL, WYL water polo
