Victory against La Cañada Spartans seals league title for Tigers

Josh Irvine: Staff Writer

The South Pasadena pool this year has been a historic venue. The boys’ water polo team won league for the first time in nine years by defeating their long-time rival La Cañada. Now the girls’ water polo team is making history by also defeating La Cañada at home and away for the first time in 11 years. This has set them on track to win league for the first time ever.

The Tigers beat La Cañada 10-4, but if one was judging by the first couple minutes of the first quarter, it looked as if it was going to be another close match. The Spartans took a 2-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game, but didn’t score again until the fourth quarter when they desperately scored two more goals to make the final score 10-4. After the game, senior Shelby Gogreve said, “All our hard work is finally paying off and I’m so excited for CIF!”

This was the first year that the girls were ranked in CIF pre-season, so the players and coach knew it was going to be an exciting year. When the season began, the Tigers were seated fourth, right behind Crescenta Valley. Yet early in the season, South Pasadena defeated Crescenta Valley and replacing them as third in CIF. Senior Alex Walker had some positive predictions for CIF this year, saying, “I think were going to easily go farther than we have ever gone before in CIF, and that we have a really good chance of winning.”

With just two games remaining, both of whom have already been defeated by the Tigers, the team cannot contain their excitement. Senior Audrey Kim said, “We have a small team, but a lot of heart.” This mirrors what Coach Robert Echeverra said about his team: “We are very versatile, and every player can do well in any position. I can count on everyone to hold their own.”