The Orange Lutheran Varsity Girls Water Polo team is having a spectacular and undefeated season with a record of 25-0, destroying the competition in Trinity League and tournaments. The team defeated Mater Dei 9-5, becoming Trinity League Champions two years in a row and sixth in Orange Lutheran history. They are finishing up the season and going into CIF, where they are ranked #1 in the Open Division. They won the first playoff game, defeating Woodrow Wilson High School 9-14 and advancing onto the CIF semifinals. Their undefeated record and top placement in Open Division is a testament to their talent and dedication to this sport and each other.
Varsity athlete Samantha Kim, who is continuing her water polo journey at Brown University, expresses that during “[her] 4 years of playing water polo at OLu, a lot has happened and a lot has changed. Freshman year was hard dealing with Covid and an all new high school, but I made it through. The girl’s water polo team had been through 2 different coaches by my sophomore year, until Brenda Villa was finally hired my junior year and led us to a CIF Open Division Championship in 2023. I’m glad I didn’t quit when things got hard and that my fellow seniors also stuck it through, and now we have a close knit team and another shot at winning CIF this year.” She further explains how the camaraderie fostered throughout the teams victories and losses created stronger relationships with her teammates outside the pool. As Samantha reflects on her four year journey, she expresses the uncertainties she experienced transferring coaches. The team’s determination to overcome the challenges faced exemplifies the resilience of the team and the water polo program.
