Spartans continue to improve
Four different SHS players score in 7-4 loss
Despite a 7-4 loss to Tulare Western at home Wednesday evening, the Strathmore High School girls water polo team showed that they are continuing to improve by taking the most shots they have all season and scoring a season-high four goals.
Spartans’ head coach Monty Newkirk said that the team is very young and only return two starters in the field — sophomore Paulina Cemo and senior Kallysta Cox. The team’s only other returners are junior Kylee Blackwell and senior Felicity Wynn. Patterson was the starting goalie last season but missed about a third of the season due to injury.
“The youth, speed and most of these girls, it’s their second game,” Newkirk said about what the team’s biggest issues were. He added, “Everybody else is pretty much brand new. It’s tough out there, keeping their spirits up but they’re learning. We scored. Should’ve had five, we had [four] right? We missed two 5-meters. So that’s better. We took one shot yesterday and scored it. And zero the first game, so we’re improving a little each time.”
Strathmore (0-3) trailed 3-0 at the end of the first period but were able to hold Tulare Western (5-2) to just one goal in the second period. The team had opportunities to score but mismanaged shot clocks, bad spacing and a lack of communication kept them scoreless.
But in the third period, the Spartans began taking smarter shots and after two more Mustang goals, Wynn finally got the team on the board with a shot from about 5-meters out. In the fourth Strathmore outscored Tulare Western 3-1 with Sidney Hartsell, Cox and Cemo scoring, respectively, for the Spartans.
Newkirk said that right now the team is staying motivated by focusing on preparing for the East Sequoia League and are using each game as learning experiences.
On Tuesday, Sept. 4, Strathmore travels to Tulare for a 5:30 p.m. game against Tulare Union.
Mission Oak in Tulare on Wednesday in a nonleague match.
The Grizzlies had a couple of close matches with Granite Hills’ No. 1 Kellyann Whited winning her first set 6-1 but losing the second one to the Hawk’s Mariana Salzar 6-1. However, Whited ended up losing the tiebreaker set 11-9. Also in singles No. 3 Leelu Amparano lost her match 6-4, 6-3.
In the No. 2 doubles match, GHHS Sara Lor and Wendy Moreno kept things close but lost the match 7-5, 6-4.