On Tuesday, March 21, the girls varsity water polo team competed in its first game of the season. Unfortunately, the girls’ first game was the hardest one this season as they played one of the best teams in the state: Hudsonville. Despite their valiant efforts, the girls lost to Hudsonville 14-1, given that Hudsonville is a very competitive, talented, fast swimming team.

FHC performed extremely well, even though they only gained one point. That one point they gained was scored by senior Sydney VanLente. VanLente’s teammates all said that she played very well. Another athlete on the team, Ashley Schenck, was on point as she played the entire game.

Water polo is an under-appreciated sport.  For some background knowledge of water polo, it is an extremely aggressive sport. It requires a lot of athleticism and endurance. Players are constantly swimming back and forth all the time and there is no downtime. Water polo athletes are always doing something as there is always some sort of play happening. All the players who were in the water came out scratched and bruised. There is not one player who goes into the game and comes out unscathed as everything underwater is legal.

During the game, FHC had no kick-outs which is phenomenal. Kick-outs are when players on a team are fouled and sent into the penalty box. The penalty only lasts for 30 seconds, or until the ball gets turned over, or when a goal is made. At the end of the game, the Rangers were tired.

“Going into this game, all players on the team knew it was going to be a hard game from the start. Even though it was a tough loss, it prepared our mindsets for the season. From now on, every game we go into, we will have an aggressive, competitive mindset; believing that every other team we play is as good–or if not better than Hudsonville,” junior Olivia Oorbeck stated.

Overall, it was a very good game as FHC tried to get the ball as much as possible. The girls next game is Thursday, March 23, at 7 P.M., against Jension at Jenison.