Friday, October 14 was the first rainy day in Ripon after a long hot summer, but this would not be enough to stop RHS’ girls water polo tournament. The rain poured into the pool at 7:30 that morning, where the girls would compete against Gregori High School. Despite the rain, the early start times, and the competition against the Division 1 school, the Lady Indians won the game with a score of 11-2.
There were notable performances from girls Mallory Brubaker, Chloe Winter, and Andria Martin as they all made several goals against Gregori’s team.
While the Lady Indians had a strong start game against Gregori, the second against El Capitan later that day at 11:30 am was difficult despite Ripon’s strong defense. They played a hard defense, making their offense second priority and using their usual strategy of shutting down their opponent’s offense. However, the game against El Capitan would be a loss for the girls with a score 10-2.
“The El Capitan game was definitely more difficult than the Gregori game. EL Capitan has always given us a run for our money, and the games we’ve played against them in the past have been super close scores. On Friday, we kind of let the score run up on their part, but we were always playing super strong defense against them,” Mallory Brubaker stated in a recap from the game.
The girls water polo tournament featured 42 teams, the Lady Indians placing 14th.
“Overall, this tournament went really well for us as a team. We learned things we still need to work and improve on, but we also figured out what clicks for us and makes us a strong team to compete against… We played some tough teams, but we stayed with them and stayed strong.” Brubaker shared regarding her after thoughts on the games.
This large tournament took place at Ripon High School, sparking interest in the students of the High School who were able to watch the competitions during breaks and lunch. While Ripon’s Girls didn’t win both games, they still walked away with valuable knowledge and the satisfaction of hard work.
