The boys’ varsity water polo team qualified for state after beating Sunset 6-5 on Oct 23.  “We spent a lot of time practicing the weeks before the match,” senior Dan Forsland said. The boys close out the season with Southridge Oct. 28 at the Beaverton Swim Center.

While the girls’ team had already made it to state, the boys needed to win their game against Sunset to qualify. “We’ve been preparing for our game against Southridge and hopefully we win,” Forsland said. The boys are fourth in the Metro League with a 4-4 record. Southridge leads the league 9-0.

Players have been motivated by their victory after a weak start to the season. “I feel like we have gotten a lot better and played at our best to win,” Forsland said of the Sunset victory. “The game against Beaverton was really rough the day before, and I think that we learned from that about what we needed to do mentally.”

The girls are also gearing up for post-season play. “In preparation for state, we will be bumping up the intensity in practices this week,” varsity player Elise Cugnart said. “We will primarily be focused on finalizing our plays and tactics.” The teams will also continue to have daily doubles that involves an early morning land workout and an afternoon pool practice.

The  girls will have their first state match on Nov. 8 in Corvallis, and the boys will play Nov. 7.