Coaches: Keith Nighswonger (head coach), Jordan Jaime (assistant coach) 

Top Returning Players: Sienna Bertsch (12), Eden Buell (12), Isabella Castaneda (12), Katelyn Fu (12), Julianna Garcia (12), Ileina Hatori (12), Jessica Luna (11), Line Razo (12), Hannah Reekstin (12)

Top Newcomers: Audrey Bogard (11), Mia Hernandez (10), Lauren Jacobsen (10), Abby Reekstin (10)

Last Season: The Lady Lancers won the 2022-2023 Freeway League with an 8-0 record (30-3 overall). For the first time in school history, the girls reached the final round of CIF playoffs but lost the CIF Division 3 championship to JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano with a score of 5-13. Nevertheless, Nighswonger has called his players champions of public school girls water polo teams.

Outlook: With a winning streak of 48 league matches – the last time the Lady Lancers lost during Freeway League play was in 2016 against Troy High School – and six consecutive league titles, the girls water polo team remains confident to set new records this season.

“Last season, the majority of our team committed to playing year-round, and it really helped us reach a new kind of level in our program,” Nighswonger said. “We reached a new plateau in terms of what we’re able to do, and getting all the way to the championship was a big thing for us.”

Besides the year-round commitment among his players in their respective club teams, the head coach said the Lady Lancers’ success comes from learning from past mistakes.

“Our goal for every season is to ideally play the perfect game,” he said. “We are constantly improving our awareness in the pool and cutting back on these types of mistakes to know where opponents move before their time.”

Many of his players also compete in the off-season in club water polo teams, which provide opportunities for the Lady Lancers to gain experience at a different level of play.

“We play against a lot of competition in the off-season against really good college teams and that takes a different kind of commitment that will create mental and physical toughness over time,” the head coach said. “Regardless of the teams, we constantly push ourselves in a position to challenge high-level matches again.”

One such player who has benefited from her off-season competition is utility player Castaneda, who joined the Fullerton Junior College’s Mid Valley club team and competed almost every weekend during the summer. 

During a tournament in Hawaii that lasted from Tuesday-Sunday, Aug. 1-6, the senior’s team played against college athletes from such places as Stanford, the University of Hawaii and Concordia University in Irvine and ended in third place in the Women’s Open division, according to Kahuna Events.

“Being able to play against collegiate girls as well as an Olympian is a cool experience that will help us to keep the intensity up every game [of the SH season],” Castaneda said.

That level of competition has also made her more focused on establishing a strong mentality among teammates away from the pool.

“I think keeping our culture strong, which is our job to win, is something that we shouldn’t expect anything less from ourselves,” she said. “By showing up every day and not messing around, our hard work will show off in our successes.” 

Utility player Hernandez said playing against tougher opponents keeps her motivated to stay sharp and win matches.

“It’s always going to be tough playing against college-level students, but knowing that we can put up a fight against these teams helps me have a higher ego so that we can continue to win games,” Hernandez said. 

So far, the Lady Lancers have started this season with 10 non-league victories.

Most recently, they beat Mira Costa High School on Wednesday, Dec. 9, in an away match, with a score of 9-6. 

The Lady Lancers will open their first Freeway League match against the Sonora Raiders on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. in the Sunny Hills pool.