On Thursday, September 7th, the Amador Valley Varsity Girls Water Polo team played their first home game against California High School, following a strong win against Granada and hoping to lay the groundwork for a successful season.
Despite the tight score, the game ultimately culminated in a loss for the girls, 9-10.
“They’re young. I graduated seven seniors last year, so this team is still trying to find its identity,”said Tim Riley, Varsity Water Polo Head Coach.
Reilly describes how the early practices and games have shown massive growth from all players, like goalie Deepika Suresh’s (‘26) blocking skills and Susan Swyers’ (‘26) multiple goals in the game. In addition to the team’s new identity, they are playing their games with four injured players at varying spots on the team.
“It’s a little hard sometimes, I’m definitely trying to work towards getting better. It sucks not being able to help my team that much. I think we need to work more on our strategy and our technique, but other than that, I think we will be able to start winning.” said Anusha Shelatkar (‘26), AV Water Polo Player.
Looking forward into the season, the Dons face off against San Ramon Valley on the 28th and Crondalet on the 30th.
“If we can get to a point at the end of the season we could make NCS and probably do first or second round, but that’s all contingent on how the girls decide to play for the rest of season,” said Riley.
The girls spent the 8th and the ninth hopping schools in the Bay Area for the Acalanes tournament, creating a sense that will be continuous in the following jam-packed weeks.
“Our team chemistry has gotten a lot better, where we’ve been able to work together better and understand each other better. I think that’s a really important part of the game,” said Shelatkar.
