Samo water polo builds early momentum

Shanna Stevenson / Contributor

Samo girls’ waterpolo comes together for a pre game photo in their early season game.

The ’25-’26 Samo girls’ water polo season officially began on Nov. 18 with a game against El Segundo High, winning 10-8. After a thrilling ’24-’25 season that ended in a 12-13 overall score, the team, led by head coach Matthew Flanders, is hoping for victory.

“The girls fought hard the whole year. Honestly, we are working to improve every aspect of our game for this year. Our goals are always to win league and win CIF,” Flanders said.

Last year, Samo’s girls’ water polo team made it to the second round of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) matches and Flanders is looking to push even further. While many star senior players have graduated, the team has hope for the new sophomores to step up. Xylia Criswell (’26) was looking forward to the first match to see

how the team fares.

“We’re down a lot of seniors going into this yet, but we have a lot of players that have moved up and I think they are pulling the weight really well,” Criswell said. “Flanders mentioned that we’re looking better now than we were this time last year. I think the fact that a lot of our players trained in the off-season in club a bit of a difference.”

The first game will put the girls to the test as a learning experience and the first showcase of their potential strengths.

“I think (the first game) will be a tough one. We’re playing El Segundo High School and they have a pretty strong team. For the first game, just expect learning and growth. I’m hopeful; it will be interesting to see how we advance through the season,” Criswell stated.

Samo won their second game this season against Cleveland High School, which they won 17-0. These games are a strong start for the girls, but only time will tell where they end up in the long run.