The boys varsity water polo team beat Gunn High School 13-10 today, September 11. After entering the third quarter down by 2 points, the Eagles managed to score an incredible 10 points in the second half, pulling ahead of Gunn by a comfortable margin.

The first quarter of the game was sluggish for both teams; every shot made by the Los Altos team was answered almost immediately with a point from Gunn.

“It’s our first game, so we’re a little rusty,” junior Ryan Seltzer said. “In the beginning, our defense was a little bit stagnant. On offense, we weren’t executing all the shots we could.”

After the team was unable to capitalize on Gunn’s weak defense and take a solid lead, the first quarter ended with Los Altos and Gunn tied neck-to-neck at 2-2.

Throughout the second quarter, however, the Eagles’ defense began to unravel, allowing for Gunn to score two points in quick succession. Los Altos was only able to put one ball in the back of the net during the duration of the second quarter, leaving the team down 3-5 entering the third quarter.

The water polo team seemed to visibly get it together in the last quarter. Hours of dedication and early practices paid off, and a pep talk from Coach Bega clearly helped the Eagles begin to take control of the ball and take control of the game.

“We really stepped up our game in the second half,” team captain senior Ian McColl said. “We outscored them ten to five, and that’s Los Altos Water Polo; that’s what we expect to do every game.”

With such a strong win for the first game, the team is looking forward to a great season. The team has high hopes for the upcoming season after taking second in CCS last year.

The team’s next game is this Thursday, September 13, against Homestead High School. Varsity will play at 3:30 p.m. in the home game.