Burlingame’s boys and girls water polo teams each picked up the first wins of their shortened seasons last week. On Thursday, the boys team dominated Mills, winning 18-3, and the girls team beat Sequoia convincingly, winning 9-4. They followed this up on Friday with wins against Aragon; the boys won 13-7, and the girls 8-4. These wins followed shaky starts for both teams this season, as they each dropped their first two games to Carlmont and Woodside. 

The games against Aragon on Friday were originally scheduled for April 25 but were postponed due to severe wind. This rescheduling played to Burlingame’s advantage, as they would have been short-handed had they played on Tuesday. Due to a mandatory 10-day quarantine for any students that left the state over spring break, the team would not have been at full strength originally. The additional depth was especially important for the girls team, which did not have any subs available for their first two games.

The game against Aragon was especially personal for Burlingame, as players from both the boys and girls teams had played club water polo with players on the Aragon teams in years past. The chip on the shoulder of both schools led to especially physical and hard-fought matches, as neither side was willing to give in.

Both of the girls team’s wins last week were highlighted by strong defensive performances, led by their goalie, junior Alex Dolginsky. The team also improved on their ball movement from previous games.

“We had a few really nice breakaways that turned into goals… I’m really proud of my team,” sophomore Lily Hartley said after their win Friday.

The boys team was led by a strong shooting performance on Friday, as five players scored multiple goals in their win over Aragon. They also showed impressive defensive improvement, giving up a total of just ten goals in their two games last week. This came after giving up 21 and 11 goals in their first two games.