On Thursday, October 9, the varsity boys water polo team suffered a tough loss against Gunn High School. The players fought long and hard, but still ended up losing 6-19.

“Gunn is the top team in our league, they’re undefeated. They out-swam us and out-worked us that game,” head coach Seth Tasman said.

The game started off with a goal by Gunn within the first two minutes. The two teams battled fiercely and Los Altos was able to score directly after. However, despite their efforts to surpass the Titans, the first quarter closed off at 4-2 in favor of Gunn.

“A lot of it was that we weren’t swimming,” sophomore Nick Rodriguez said. “We didn’t have our heads in the game and we were just letting them counter us every single time.”

Throughout the second and third quarters, Los Altos struggled to keep up with its opponent. The second quarter ended with Gunn putting five balls in the net. The Eagles trailed 2-9 after the first half. However, things picked up in the third quarter when senior captain Bryan Kim got the team a penalty shot, and senior Josh Santos scored an additional goal. The third quarter ended with 4-14, with Gunn scoring five more times.

By the time fourth quarter came around, Gunn carried a nine point lead. Bryan was able to score Los Altos another two points, but the game still finished at 6-19, a crushing 13 point defeat for the Eagles.

“It’s tough to lose like that, especially seeing the score,” Bryan said. “Our defense definitely contributed to the loss. We weren’t getting back on [defense], and they were countering us. [We should] definitely improve on reacting, going from offense to defense. We’re letting them swim by us too easily and we’re not seeing the play as it happens.”

Although the team was unable to secure a victory against Gunn, they still remain optimistic.

“This was our second time playing Gunn, and I think we did quite a bit better this time.” junior Patrick Fong said. “They’re a really strong team, and we have a lot to improve on, but… I think we did alright.”