Eja Fromm
Co-Editor In Chief
The Diablos start off an impressive season with an overall record of 10-10 as they enter their league as a Division 3 team!
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The Mission Viejo Boys Varsity Water Polo team has begun their season with an excellent record. Their season record is 10-10, as they have defeated Trabuco Hills, Walnut, Murrieta Valley, Temple City, El Segundo, Redwood, El Toro, and Tesoro!
League started on September 28th, 2021. They are currently 1-6 for league games because the majority of teams in their league are division two teams. Teams placed in division two are more advanced and difficult competition.
Mission Viejo is currently in second place in the Sea View League. Sitting in first place is undefeated Division 2 team, Aliso Niguel.
The Diablos fought hard in their first league game against Aliso on September 28th. The crowd was yearning for the Diablos to defeat their rivals, as they were tied with the Wolverines for the majority of the time.
In the beginning, Mission was up 4-0, but they unfortunately fell off with the end score being 13-10.
Their second game was against their longtime opponent, Trabuco Hills. Two years ago, the two teams made it all the way to CIF Finals, and faced each other for the CIF Division 5 Championship. Mission was fortunately victorious and became CIF Champions in 2019.
It was a close game for the Mustangs and the Diablos as they played each other on a ninety-nine degree afternoon on September 30th. The crowd was booming, the sun was roasting the pool deck, and the players were fiercely fighting for a victory. The Diablos were anticipated to win, but Trabuco was coming in hot and showed no signs of giving up. After a long game, Mission succeeded with the final score being 11-9.
Head Coach, Matt Roche, feels the team is still currently growing and has room for improvement. Some qualities that stick out to him as a coach is that his team, “doesn’t give up in pressure situations.”
Coach Matt has been preparing them with plenty of swimming. When asked what he hopes for the team to accomplish by the end of season, he replied, “I just want the boys to be playing very well together and to secure a spot in CIF.”
Roche feels the boys are realistically top 3 in CIF for Division 3, but the competing teams are all very challenging. His most important goal for the team is to improve on their awareness during a game.
The varsity team is composed of a total of 11 seniors this year. They have 3 team captains: Cooper Call, Tennyson Smith, and Pete Muller.
Captains Tennyson Smith and Cooper Call feel, “the season has been amazing because our team has grown closer together by so much.”
Their overall goal is to make it to CIF. They feel that the team has overcome many challenges so far. Communication is their key to success. Call and Smith mentioned, “at practice our teamwork is like no other, we are all on the same page and always help one another out.”
Overall, the team has high aspirations for their season. They need one more win as of October 28th to make it to CIF. Best of luck goes out to their success!
