After going undefeated in league last season, the girls’ water polo team will deepen its bench to propel its quest to duplicate last year’s success. Despite the loss of Sophia Gonzalez ’15, who currently plays at University of California, Berkeley, and starter Camille Oswald ’17 being out with a shoulder injury, the team has high hopes and is expecting to regain Caitlin Neapole ’16, who quit in sophomore year to focus on school and her other sports.

“I’m looking forward to when our games start,” Neapole said. “That is when our hard work pays off and we can really enjoy playing the game.”

The team is hoping that these new players will give the squad an edge in the coming season but know they need to work hard to ensure everyone will perform at their best.

“We have a lot of new and returning players, so I think it’s important that we learn to mesh together and really learn and teach each other so that we can also improve a lot as a team this season,” Daily Hartmeier ’16 said.

Head Coach Brian Flacks ’06 also believes that the team is much stronger than before.

“A big thing this year is that we have solved our problem of numbers,” Flacks said. “Previously, we have had the problems of not having enough players on the team. I’m looking forward to adding a little more depth and play with more rotations.”

The team is led this year by returning Varsity players Hannah Eliot ’16 and Hartmeier.

Eliot has been playing on the varsity team since her freshman year and was named CIF All-American last season as a junior on the squad.

“Another really talented player who is returning this year is Hartmeier, who had an unbelievable junior season, and I really look forward to working with her this year,” Flacks said. “I also look forward to watching her and Eliot become leaders on the team this year.”

Flacks is optimistic that this season will be successful.

“The tangible goals this year are winning mission league championship and winning CIF Division III Championship,” Flacks said.