Both boys and girls water polo teams have been dominating this year. They were nervous, yet confident, traveling to Oakdale on Thursday, Oct. 6, to face one of their biggest competitors this season, but they ended up being victorious yet again. They remain undefeated in the VOL and expect to keep it that way. The team works very well together and because of this, they have become an unstoppable unit.

“Even with difficult games, as a team, we work pretty well together,” states Matthew Lee, freshman.

The team is very positive, supportive, and encouraging of each other. They work as a sort of family system in order to be successful.

“I’m happy that we’re a young [boys] team,” says Ryan Bell, sophomore. “That means we get to stay together
for a long time.”

All photos taken by Hailey Williford

Many people do not realize how difficult the sport can get. It takes a toll on young athletes, but despite the hardships, players push through because they are genuinely passionate and love their sport.
“We have two-a-day practices,” says Chloe Price, senior. “Our coaches use the morning practices for conditioning and the afternoons to work on plays and watch film. All of us play club polo for the Ripon Renegades, too.”

They truly dedicate themselves to the game and work extremely hard to get where they are, and they plan to work even harder to continue improving.

“They took me in as their younger brother,” says Lee, “so I feel pretty good coming in as the youngest player. I played over the summer, but it took me a while to get up to their level.”

The boys team traveled to Merced College on Friday, Oct. 7 along with 27 other teams to compete in the 36th annual Roddy Svendsen tournament. RHS beat Lodi 14-9 and finished eighth overall against large-school opponents.

Originally scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 11, the home games against East Union were canceled. Their next match will be held on Oct. 14 at Central Catholic.