Girls’ water polo beat Miramonte in the North Coast Section (NCS) championship game on November 16. Featuring an offensive eruption from Annika Jensen, who scored 7 goals, the match was a blowout. The game ended with a score of 19-6 in favor of the Cougars.
While the Cougars made it look easy in the title match, the win was the culmination of weeks and months of hard work. “We don’t take any breaks. We are expected to give 100% everyday,” Brooke Presten said.
On Saturday morning, the team got up early and went to the Soda Aquatic Center for a “splash and giggle.” According to Jensen, this is where the players swim and pass in order to get loose and get all of their jitters out.
After that, the team had a long meeting, covering the game plan.
Finally, just before game time, the team dances. According to Jensen, this is the most important part of their preparation. “It’s been a tradition for our team to dance before every game. It gets us pumped up,” she said.
“I was definitely nervous, the whole team was, but we were also very confident at the same time,” she Ellen Gerst. That confidence was on display early, as the Cougars controlled the pace a play.
By halftime, the score was 11-3.
Leading the team were seniors Jensen and Natalie Seidemann, who together scored a total of 13 goals.
Junior Anya Morrill said, “it felt good to finally achieve what we had worked for all season. It also felt good to smash Miramonte for one last time.”
“I felt ecstatic. I’ve never been so proud of my team. We set winning NCS as one of our goals at the beginning of the season and being able to accomplish it makes me so proud,” Jensen said of her feelings as the final whistle sounded.
As a senior, this was Jensen’s last game at Campo. She looks forward to playing at USC next year.
Though it is not their first NCS title, Presten said that winning never gets old, especially with all the hard work they put in to earn it.
