| FOUR TIGERPOLO TEAMS OPEN SEASON ! | |
| This Months Motto "Aequabit nigras candida una dies" "One single bright day will equal the black ones" |
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| Newly Remodeled Pool Improves Water Polo ! | |
| New Pool + New Teams = TIGERPOLO Gets Underway! |
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Tigers Get Chewed Up By Menlo-Atherton After the best pre-season start in TIGERPOLO'S short history,  the home openr against Menlo-Atherton brought the TN Tigers back to earth, as Menlo-Atherton proved to be the toughest team that they have faced so far. During the pre-season, TIGERPOLO teams did very well playing the invitational practice games, including all four TIGEROLO teams out-scoring the Carlmont Scots at two different practice meets. These "practice games" were staged to help prepare for the regular season which opened on Monday, September 29th. New PAL Division - TIGERPOLO has been moved to the "Bay Division" of the Peninsula Athletic League this season, as most of the teams in the Ocean Division, which TIGERPOLO competed in last year do not have enough players to field four teams. The "Bay Division" has the strongest water polo teams in PAL, with some of the schools having five and six year programs, where the players can start as early as the seventh grade, so even the "Junior Varsity" players have at least three years of experience, and by the time they get to the Varsity level, many of the players have five or six years of competitive water polo experience.
"Our success in building the program has created a very difficult season for us, but if we weren't in the Bay Division, then all of the kids wouldn't get to play" noted Coach Nicole Kafka, "Since we have both Boy's and Girl's Varsity and Junior Varsity teams, and most of the schools in the Ocean Division only have one or two teams, we have to play in the Bay division for all of our teams to get to play competitively".
Terra Nova Is Not Alone - Carlmont High School has also been moved up to the Bay Division, like TNHS, they have four teams as well, and Coach Dana Hunter makes the point that "You only get better playing against tough teams", "By the end of the season, I predict that both Carlmont and Terra Nova will prove to be very tough competition for some of these old line schools." "I agree" said Coach Nicole Kafka of Terra Nova, "We have spirit, tenacity and at the core of this group of kids is a lot of real determination to become very good water polo players - you can see that in just the few short weeks since we started practicing!"
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| Sometimes The Hero's Aren't The Ones That Score All The Goals ! | ||||||||
Watching a water polo match is somewhat similar to watching a football game on Television -- the eyes follow the person with the ball, and tend to focus on the players who score the goals, similarly, the Television Camera follow the pass from the Quarter Back to the Receiver's. What's hard to watch is the setup and defense that allows the player to score.
This year the Girl's Varsity team has a number of notable players that form a core of teamwork, that takes advantage of openings, and plays very well at moving the ball around, and setting up goal shots. Although it is difficult to single out any individual player, as so many of the team are playing so well, Rebecca Belway deserves to especially recognized for her outstanding efforts. She not only plays her position very well, but covers her opposing team player well, and moves very quickly through the water, protecting, blocking, passing and guarding with precision. Her intensity never lags, and like the "Energizer Bunny", she's still going strong in the 4th quarter, moving with speed and agility that is very impressive in a young player. Team Captain Lily Arnaudo, and another outstanding player, says, "Rebecca's a player you can count on, no matter how late in the game it is, and no matter how tired everyone is, she's always there, guarding her opponent, never allowing them to score, and playing with all of her heart." McBlocking Is Back! - Once again, Stephanie McClymond is proving her amazing skill at blocking goal shots, seeming to anticipate when and where the attacker will throw the ball.
Supporting Stephanie is a much improved Girl's Varsity defense, which is playing a more tight-knit game, with better coverage, and more speed than ever before. "We're much more of a team than we have ever been before" said Patricia Forbes,
Watching the intensity of any of the Girl's Varsity Games quickly proves the wisdom of that remark. It's hard to imagine swimming so hard for so long and still move with the speed these Lady Tigers do. One can imagine by the end of this season, TIGERPOLO Girl's Varsity will be a real force to contend with. Rocio Medina, whose strength and tenacity in staying right with her opponent often prove to be the key to a failed fast breakout by the opposition, plays with a ferocity that proves the strength of the Lady Tiger's defense. Sammi Barclay-Saxon seems to spring from nowhere blocking pass after pass, and Tiffany McMartin adds another dimension of speed and agility to the team that in the long-term should prove to be very competitive. Even in the first game against Menlo-Atherton, a division leader with more experienced players, the Lady Tigers showed their mettle, not only blocking a number of goals, but scoring against a very strong M-A defense. |
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