Despite a tough 1-6 start to the season, the Panthers came back to finish strong, winning the Prep League and advancing to the CIF Division III Southern Section semifinals, continuing a theme of deep playoff runs for the water polo program. Finishing with an impressive 20-13 record and a 7-1 league record, the Panthers faced multiple quality opponents in the playoffs, taking down Yorba Linda 17-9, Rio Mesa 9-6, and Dana Hills 14-11 before advancing to the semifinals and putting up a great fight against MLK high school, barely losing 7-9.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the game was tied 6-6 and could have gone either way. With time winding down, both teams had scored one goal in the fourth quarter, tying the game once again 7-7.
“We got tired as a team and it gave them a chance to strike,” said sophomore Kalyx Lara. “It was tied pretty much ‘til the very end but they were able to capitalize on our mistakes.” Despite a great effort, the Panthers fell short, but that does not take away from the team’s great achievements and progress this season.
While losing several seniors dealt a significant blow to the team, the underclassmen rose to the challenge and made meaningful contributions.
When asked about the team’s strengths and weaknesses at the beginning of the season, Head Coach Sean Grab said, “At the beginning of the season, we were struggling with finding our identity and how we played the game and then resorting to our older guys, particularly Theo Kratter, but as the season went on, we found a more dynamic, more versatile way to attack and play and started to gain some confidence.” Grab also mentioned how, as the season went on, players besides their seniors began to step up, such as juniors Joe Benitez and Danny Lara, along with sophomores Remick Techentin and Kalyx Lara.
As the season comes to a close, the water polo program is optimistic about the future, with several impactful underclassmen set to return.
“We have a very good base right now and with the addition of Poly’s club [the Pasadena Aquatics Club] bringing in new players, the program can only grow from there,” said senior August Tonthat. “I think in the next few years I can see us graduating from division three and playing at an even higher level of water polo.”
With two deep playoff runs in the last two years, the Panthers look to hit the deck even harder next season, continue to improve and develop young talent, and, most importantly, get over the hump and bring home a CIF championship.