VICTORY: The Bears ended the season as the 2013 Ivy League Champions and put up a great fight in CIFs.
By Skylar Rains, Staff Writer
This season, boys’ water polo was a force to be reckoned with despite losing last season’s key seniors. The team ended the season with some impressive statistics, including 308 goals, 274 steals and 237 saves. In league, the team went undefeated with an 8-0-0 record, repeating its impressive performance from last year and ending with an 18-12 overall record (which includes non-league matches). Varsity player Jonah Saenz (11) scored 113 goals, an amazing feat to say the least. Goalkeeper Kristopher Mcveigh (10) ended the season with a total of 237 saves, averaging to around 8 saves per game.
Because of their title as League Champions, the Bears were able to compete in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division V championship. The boys competed against Los Angeles’s Flintridge Prep High School, the team they defeated in last year’s CIF Quarterfinals. Poly kept a solid lead until the final minute of the third quarter, when Flintridge took the lead, 12-11. The team fought a good fight, but unfortunately lost.
Next year, the promising team should surpass this year’s success. Since there were only two active seniors this season, the team should be able to recover quickly due to the large amount of returning players. There are many talented players expected to help carry the team in the 2014 season, including Joey Dempsey (11), Jake Pluimer (11), Michael Swieca (9) and Zachery Ritter (10), all of whom contributed significantly to this season’s victory.