Girls JV water polo goes 2-0 at its first tournament of the season

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Coming off of a big win against Grand Ledge last Tuesday, the girls were excited to compete in Friday’s tournament at Grandville. They played against Grandville and Jenison, beating the Bulldogs 8-2 and the Wildcats 9-4.

“I think our JV team is doing extremely well so far. Without having a season last year, they are all playing at the high school level for the first time,” head coach Sara Fredricks said. “They’ve learned so much in just a few weeks, constantly push themselves to get better, and work really hard as a team which has led them to have a successful start to the season. “

The girls played Jenison first, and while they were a very aggressive team, the girls outplayed them every quarter, producing the 9-4 win. 

Scoring some points for the team in the first game, central sophomore Sydney Vanlente has had a great season so far.

“The team played so well on Friday, and we have improved so much from our first game,” said Sydney.

Some of the other top scorers from the weekend were northern freshman Anna Wiechertjes and Elliot McAlpine. Central freshman Ashley Schenck was also very helpful on defense. 

Another talented freshman, Olivia Oorbeck took advantage of her ability to swim fast and capitalized on some quality opportunities in front of the net.

“I believe our biggest strengths so far is our speed because most people on the team are swimmers and it’s allowing us to break away from other teams,” Olivia said. “We are improving a lot on passing more and trust each other more with the ball.”

Despite a quick turnaround after their previous game against Jenison, the girls had an even better game versus Grandville. Although the girls were tired, that didn’t stop them from winning 8-2.

“We’re lucky to have a fast team that can out-swim most, and that really showed on Friday,” coach Fredricks said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better tournament.” 

After winning three games in a row, coach Fredericks is very confident in her team’s abilities this season.

“I think this team is going to have a really strong season. I have no doubt they’ll end with a winning record and be one of the top JV teams in West Michigan. I’ve seen improvements every single game so far. They all have the right determination and competitive energy to be at the top level. If they continue like they have been, they’ll have a very successful season and a good foundation for moving up to the varsity level,” said coach Fredricks

Next up on the schedule, Forest Hills will host Grandville on Tuesday, April 20th in its second home game of the year.