The562’s season previews for the 2022-23 school year are sponsored by Vertical Raise, the official team fundraising partner of The562.
The562’s coverage of water polo & swimming is sponsored by the Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.
The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by John Ross, Class of 2013.
There’s new leadership in J-Town as Manny Buenaventura has taken over the girls’ water polo program. The Panthers have been searching for some stability within the program, and Buenaventura is hoping to keep things fun for his team while building up their skills in the pool.
“We’ll have a mix of returning players as well as some brand-new-to-aquatics team members,” said Buenaventura. “Our number one goal heading into the season is to have fun and enjoy ourselves in the water first and foremost, while continuing to improve our water polo skills and build upon our knowledge and fundamentals. It is going to be a really fun year and I am pretty excited to see what is in store, especially as a first-year head coach.”
Leading the way for returners is a group of a half-dozen seniors. Lupe Aguilar will play center for the Panthers, with Felisa Avila, Yareli Alfaro and Jazmin Magadan-Gonzalez playing the driver role. On the wings, Jordan will have seniors Alex Salazer and Angie Baliling. Buenaventura also praised the competitiveness of his returning sophomore and junior classes heading into this season.
The Moore League schedule couldn’t start out much tougher for the Panthers this year. They open league play against Poly at the Varsity Showcase hosted by Cabrillo on Dec. 21. Then after the new year they’ll visit Wilson (Jan. 11) and Millikan (Jan. 18) to resume their league schedule.
