Team makes end of season push

Team makes end of season push

By Hector Trujillo

With only a few games left in the season, the Scripps Ranch High School womens water polo team looks to close out strong and bounce back from its slow start versus some tough competition.

After losing the first two matches of the season to Del Norte High School and El Camino High on Dec. 1, the Lady Falcons bounced back to earn a hard-fought 9-7 victory over San Diego Academy (SDA) the following day. SRHS then endured a 12-2 loss to San Marcos High School immediately after their game against SDA, but managed to push Mira Mesa High School to the limit on Dec. 12 before falling in a 9-10 nail-biter.

Showing true grit and determination, the Lady Falcons then rebounded on Dec. 14 with a resounding 18-5 win versus Canyon Hills High School, followed by a month-long break before their re-match with Mira Mesa on Jan. 10.

“We lost that first game versus Mira Mesa that we shouldn’t have lost and had three starters out that day,” said head coach Brad Oestreich. “I would expect Point Loma to be our toughest competition left.”

Point Loma High School and Scripps Ranch High close out the season on Feb. 1.

Despite the mixed results so far, the Lady Falcons have gotten some noteworthy performances starting with senior captain Olivia Dummer, who has been a force to be reckoned with for opposing teams, along with fellow seniors Chloe Kuperstein and Abigail Leader.

“We are a young team,” Oestreich said. “We had a total of 30 girls that came out for the team this year between junior varsity and varsity. They’re a good group of girls that I’ve been coaching for three years and have been coming together for the last month here in their senior season.”

Another standout player has been senior southpaw Emily Konold who has brought an extra burst of energy for her teammates.

Scripps Ranch will take part in the San Diego varsity open tournament on Jan. 25, 26 and 27, hoping to come in hot with a road victory over Grossmont on Jan. 24.

“Winning can be contagious and teams sometimes just need to feel what it is to win again, not only to drive them to work harder, but also to continue to build on what they already have,” Oestreich said.