Following last year’s run in the CIF semifinals, the Malibu High School varsity girls water polo team is well into its current season as they attempt to match and surpass last year’s accomplishments.
The team returns many of its starters from last year’s squad, but at the same time it has lost one of its most integral pieces of last year’s success, Gianna Fote. Fote, who scored 160 goals for the Sharks, was one of Malibu’s best offensive weapons, leaving this year’s team to adjust its strategy.
“Last year we relied on a couple of individuals, but this year everyone is working together in a team effort both offensively and defensively,” Head Coach Tim Segesman said. “It’s going to be hard to replace [a player like Gianna], but I think as a team we are going to be stronger.”
The girls have a record of 5-2 this year and come off of an impressive 9-4 victory last week against Westlake High School, a school in Division Two (Malibu is in Division Six).
“It was a really good win because we lost to that team last weekend in a tournament,” senior captain Sophie Galate said.
The Sharks return to a Tri-Valley League that they have been very successful in during the past couple of years, including an undefeated league season last year.
While the Sharks have many of the same starters from last year’s team, there are a number of players who are entirely new to the squad. As a result of this, they’ll need to work more on their team chemistry in order to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves.
“We’re starting to come together, we have a lot of potential to do very well, but we just need to put the pieces together,” Segesman said.
Many players agree that the team definitely has room to grow.
“We’re developing as a new team, so we have a lot to work on and a lot of growing room” Galate said. “We have all of our components, but we just need to find a way to utilize them.”
The expansion of the team’s coaching staff from two to four this year may help, as the coaches can help the team achieve a great deal more during practices, which the Sharks believe will translate into wins.
“It’s really helpful to have four coaches because they can get in the water and help us with our plays and our communication, which is a key factor that we need to work on,” Galate said.
With the loss of its leading goal-scorer, a key to the team’s success this season will be its defense.
“We have a great goalie in Jojo White so we can run a lot of different things and our defense is strong, but we still need to work on our offense,” Segesman said, adding, “It’s one game at a time and once the playoffs roll around, it comes down to who comes to play, and I think that the girls are going to come to play because of their experience the past two years.”