Rams Sunk by San Mateo in Brutal Battle

In their fourth conference game of the season on Wednesday, October 14, the Rams fell to the Bulldogs in valiant fashion. The scoreboard read 19-9 at the end of regulation, but team morale remains high. 

Chloe Harmon, a first-year pursuing an Athletic Coaching Certificate, said: “I was so happy to see a very strong start. We had an amazing goal – I think it was by Elaine – right off the bat. [An early goal] always sets a good tone for the team.”

“What I did also see across the board from everyone was a strong improvement and knowledge of the game – where to be and what to do, the strength in swimming as well as [diverse goalscorers],” Harmon said. 

“The game last Wednesday was a game that we had a lot of build up towards,” said Creative Writing and Anatomy double major Wendy Hong. “It was a home game, and two weeks leading to the game, our coaches, Mike and Phong, were really going hard on us, expecting us to do really well in this game, especially because we thought we had a chance.”

“We really did have a good chance to win and to play a really good game against College of San Mateo,” said the freshman. “We got off to a really good start. The game was challenging.”

“I think it exposed things that we definitely want to keep working on, like removing turnovers, handling the ball better and better coordination on offense. Our coaches have been stressing these things over time that we learn from our mistakes,” Hong said. 

In terms of outlook on water polo’s next home game, Hong said: “It's gonna be a challenging game, for sure. We’re facing Cabrillo, who's a very experienced team. We're gonna try to do our best, and our goal is to improve.”

“I scored my first goal for the school last game, and it still feels unreal for me. This is my first season playing water polo, and it was not something I would have expected. I hope to score some more goals for the school, and just in general, [be] a better player,” Hong said.

Samantha Martin, 52, a Spanish and Personal Training double major, expressed the rewarding aspect of competing on a team. “The game was great. You know, it was a learning experience, and every time we get in the water, we improve.”

“The way I look at it is this: if the worst thing that happens to me all week is [that] my water polo team didn't win a match, guess what? I've made it in life. Life is pretty damn good,” Martin said. 

Assistant Coach Michael Tyler echoed his players’ assessments. “Every game is an opportunity to improve. In the last few games, we've worked on identifying our deficiencies and making actions to overcome them,” he said. 

“We improved a lot in some regards. Our defense has improved, and our game IQ is also developing,” Tyler said. 

“We only have three games left – three league games left this season. We’re gonna have a good showing; we’re gonna give it everything we got. The morale is high, and we're looking forward to going out with bang,” he said. 

Editor’s note: Water Polo would go on to lose their final home game when Cabrillo College defeated them 22-12 on Oct. 21.