By Cooper Hofmann

There are few sports so entirely demanding yet unrecognized as water polo. It’s like soccer and basketball in terms of gameplay, but with the aggression of rugby thrown in. You chase down other players, pass the ball, and shoot goals, however, all entirely in the water. As physically and mentally demanding as the sport is, our Granada Hills Charter (GHC) girls water polo players have been competitive this season.

The GHC girls water polo team made history this year by winning the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) city finals in Division 1 for the first time. They beat Cleveland High School 13 to 7 on February 19.

“We made it to the CIF City Finals, and made history by winning Division 1!” junior Lea Sun said. “We also only lost one game in the regular season, and were also given a chance to participate in the CIF State Regional bracket because of our D1 win.” 

The team made it to the SoCal CIF Championship tournament, but lost to Birmingham High School 8 to 18 on February 25.  

When a team has ten wins and two losses, you know they’re doing something right. This is made strikingly clear with games like their 1st match in January against Kennedy, where the GHC girls water polo team blew them out of the water (pun intended) 20 to nothing. Another standout match was their February 12 game against L.A.C.E.S., coasting to a 22/nil win. Overall, their only losses have been to Birmingham on January 27, and February 25.With star player, sophomore Alexandra Bierman, scoring nine goals against Cleveland High School, it just goes to show that this year, their lineup is something special. 

“Our typical practice schedule starts at 5:00 a.m. and it goes until 6:30 a.m.,” senior and team captain Danielle Lee said. “We start off with swimming laps, sprints, and warming up our legs before we head into entirely water polo practice.”

Water polo is a highly demanding sport that requires everything from its players, but doesn’t garner as much representation as other sports. So how do these players stay so motivated? I wouldn’t like taking the plunge into ice cold water daily, so how do they do it? 

“The need for teamwork in water polo kind of means that everything you do is tied to your team’s success, so I just think of them when I’m playing,” Sun said. 

The reason behind GHC’s girls water polo team’s historic success isn’t solely attributed to its star players, or copious amounts of conditioning; it’s how they connect as a team, work together, and beat the teams in their way.

Our water polo team is one of a kind, that’s pretty clear. The only thing to do now is sit back, and see them crush the 2026 season next year.