The LBCC women’s water polo team beat the Pasadena City College Lancers 16-1 Wednesday afternoon, giving them a dominating first conference win of the season.
The Vikings entered the pool strongly, scoring five points in the first quarter and gaining them powerful momentum which they were able to carry throughout the rest of the game.
Hailey Wadlington, goalie for the Vikings, blocked the Lancers from scoring 11 times but allowed Savannah Ortiz, an attacker for the Lancers to score in the final quarter.
Returning students, Chayma Hlanadif and Kaya Barret both tied for most points scored with both scoring three points throughout the game.
The Vikings are coming off of an undefeated conference season last year, a trend that they hope to maintain in the 2022 season. Their Sept. 14 win puts them in a 3-2 standing and a 1-0 standing for conference play.
Overall, the The Vikings seem to be off to a good start for the season as the team is in good health. Mixed with a strong group of returning students and rising stars, everyone is fitting into their places within the team.
“We definitely have a balance of maturity and girls who are newer and learning what the expectations are. So it’s nice having that group that’s helping to guide them along,” said head coach Chris Oeding after the game.
That sentiment seems not only to be in the coaching staff overseeing the players this season, but within the players as well.
Chayama Hlanadif, center for the Vikings believes that the team is off to the start of another great season and is confident in the ability of the newer players this season.
“They know what they have to do in the water, they’re getting [more] confident game by game.” It’s really fun seeing them take initiative in the water,” Hlanadif said.
Pasadena is currently facing a challenge of their own, only eight players were present for the game which meant that those players had no option for rotations during the match.
It is unclear if players missed the game due to illness or if they left the team.
Pasadena City College head water polo coach, Terry Stoddard did not respond to our request for comment at the time of publishing.
The Vikings’ next conference game will be against Chaffey on Wednesday at 3 p.m.