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There is plenty of momentum for Long Beach girls’ water polo to build on this season as the Moore League tries to keep climbing CIF Southern Section rankings.
WILSON
When you play water polo in Long Beach you can’t avoid the legacy and lineage. This Wilson girls’ water polo season is a perfect example of that with a roster full of players with invaluable experience and connections.
Reigning Moore League Player of the Year Katherine O’Dea is the daughter of coach Barry O’Dea and she spent part of the summer with the USA Youth National Team. Long Beach State commit Angeliki Arroyo is the daughter of LBSU men’s coach and USA men’s water polo assistant coach Gavin Arroyo. Senior Cici De Luca is the daughter of water polo Olympian Jacqueline Frank De Luca, and even freshman Abby Billish is the daughter of longtime Shore Aquatics coach Joe Billish.
O’Dea is the perfect coach for this dynamic group because he’s had a daughter on his team for the last six years. He’s also willing to go away from the classic post-up style to match the skill on his roster.
“We’re different,” O’Dea said. “We’re faster. We can have multiple people posting up, so we’re going to be able to run some different things on offense and defense with gaps and spaces. This is a much more dynamic and fluid team.”
Senior Katherine O’Dea is a UCLA signee who has traveled the world with USA Water Polo. Mostly recently she competed at the World Championships in China where the Americans finished fourth. Next month she will try to earn a spot traveling with the USA senior team. Coach O’Dea thinks that experience has changed her as a teammate.
“It’s coming out in everything she does,” coach O’Dea said. “She’s got a really serious focus on what she wants to get done, and it’s great to have a player like that in practice. She can use that experience and teach. The girls have done a good job adapting to the fact that she’s not coming in with an ego, she’s coming in with a ‘This could help, let’s try this,’ mentality. And that’s not an easy thing for teenagers to do.”
Seniors Arroyo, De Luca, Iris Hiskey and Olivia Garcia are all back in the starting lineup with junior Reece Haga. Hiskey and Garcia are both committed to attend Bucknell University.
Returning goalkeeper Teagan Shandrew-Pearsall and Long Beach Poly transfer Paige Elder will share time in goal this season.
The tall freshman Abby Billish will be an impact player down low along with Mater Dei transfer Lucy Forrester when she joins the team next month after a standard sit out period. Forrester has played with this group of girls before, and this group finished fifth in the country at Junior Olympics.
“It’s going to depend on managing games where missing players,” O’Dea said. “We’re going to need to survive some games to keep our power ranking up. But I think we’re in the top five or six in the Open Division.”
LONG BEACH POLY
Long Beach Poly will rely on their upperclassmen this season as they look to succeed in the Moore League and have a strong CIF run.
“My expectation this coming season is to showcase the best that LB Poly Girl’s Polo has to offer with a starting lineup of majority seniors who are motivated and eager to ball out in their last season as high school athletes,” said first-year head coach Ali Landeros.
The Jackrabbits starters will include senior hole setter and first-team Moore League honoree Alyssa Greenwood and Marci Lenonor as the anchors of the team.
Landeros also expects big things from seniors Mikayla Shekell, Leslie Vargas and Harper Hogan. Poly will also welcome junior Brooklyn Winterset as the starting goalie, while sophomore Lali Flores will be the youngest varsity newcomer.
MILLIKAN
The Rams will look to embrace their younger talent as they return only three seniors this year.
“Season’s expectations are to find areas to improve and focus on as we go throughout our season,” said head coach Mike Carrillo. “It’s way easier said than done, but if we go about it the right way, it’s possible to do so by the time playoffs start.
Carrillo notes that the team will experiment with different lineups mid-season, ensuring they find the best player for each position. He stresses the importance of formulating a team that can deliver when the stakes are high.
“Water polo is so complex and beautiful at the same time because there’s so much happening within each second,” said Carillo. “One moment things can go our way and then within the next moment, total chaos. But getting us prepared for anything is what our focus will be right now and will continue to be throughout our season.”
The Rams will return seniors Lilly Alexander and Maggie Wells along with 2023 first-team All-Moore League honoree goalie Hailey Shuttle. Juniors Kyley Seeds, Shae Parkhill, and Grace Darby will round out the starting lineup. Carrillo also expects big things from varsity newcomers Lilla Angelov, Elizabeth Aydin and freshman Mckenna Rosenberg.
LAKEWOOD
The Lancers recognize the strength of their competition level and are ready to withstand the ups and downs of Moore League play.
“Our schedule is packed with opponents from a variety of levels, so throughout our season I expect there to be moments of great success, as well as great adversity.” said head coach Ian Schubert. “I believe we have given our athletes the tools to face this adversity head-on with only some anticipated learning curves on the way.
Though Schubert is still crafting the starting lineup, Lakewood has a strong group of seniors that will prove vital to the team’s success this season. These include Annabelle Kerendian, Aubrey Saxton, Madison Gageby, Maddy De La Riva and Isabella Ortiz.
“These athletes have demonstrated great leadership skills as well as their ability in the water. I expect them to be major contributors to our team,” said Schubert.
Lakewood also welcomes standout freshman goalkeeper Danika Beaird who will be a key addition to their defense, with Schubert praising her positive attitude both in and out of the water.
CABRILLO
The Jaguars had several new faces join their team this year and are thrilled to see improvement from both returners and incoming players.
“I am super excited to see what they’ve (new players) grasped and to help them continue to learn to love water polo as much as their returning team and I.” said head coach Hailey Pedersen. “Along with teaching some of our new girls, when it comes to our returners I am expecting to learn and grow from what we learned last season and to continue to get better and better.”
Pedersen stressed the importance of building off their strong defense from last season and establishing a potent offense.
The Jaguars’ top players include their goalie and senior Aalanah Edwards and junior set defender Cecilia Herreraner. A brand new set player will be junior Flor Garibay and juniors Chelsea Tzunun and Arleen Castillo will also start. They also welcomed two new starters to their lineup, freshman Valerie Melena-Reye and sophomore Roxanne Guevara.
In addition to their starters, Cabrillo has recruited eight new girls to join the team this year. Pedersen touts Valerie Melena-Reyes and sisters Anika and Bella Wholey as the standout newcomers.
“These three girls have learned pretty fast and are constantly asking questions to better themselves,” said Pedersen. “I am excited to see what this season will hold for them!”
JORDAN
The Panthers are proud of their work last season and is a program trending in a positive direction. Joran won six games last year, the highest win total in recent program history, and secured their first varsity win since 2019. They will look to make a postseason run and increase their win total this year, a goal that seems far more plausible than it has in previous seasons.
2023 Moore League Coach of the Year Brenden Gruneisen makes clear that seeing improvement is always his priority.
“No matter how and when our season ends, I’ll be satisfied so long as we’re having fun and playing better water polo than we were at the start of it,” said Gruneisen. “This group of girls has nothing to prove to me at this point; I’m incredibly proud of how far they’ve come and I’m just really excited to get back to work with them.”
Jordan will return five seniors to their starting lineup. Nellie Arzate will be slotted as goalkeeper. She is known as the heart and soul of this team as both a leader and anchor of their defense. Senior attackers Alessandra Moreno and Jocelyn Martinez will also return as the fastest and most improved players on the team, while Senior center and first-team All-Moore League honoree Valarie Farias will continue to be the centerpiece of the offense. Juniors Paola Mejorado, Melanie Alatorre and senior Laura Hernandez will round out the attacker group, while junior defender Melanie Madrid will be relied upon as the glue of the team as a distributor and lockdown defender.
