Girls water polo had one last game before their final West Alameda County Conference championship tournament to end their season. It was their senior night game, against Castro Valley High school on Oct. 17. All non-senior players on both junior varsity and varsity showed out to support the seniors, coming with signs, gift bags, and customized bracelets to make the game special for all the graduating players.
Co-captain Ellie Pett-Ridge Hennessy is one of the team’s seniors, and she was very happy with the send-off. “(The team) did a really lovely job. They made us all posters which is a tradition, they bought all the supplies and got lots of glitter, so that was nice. And then we also took photos together, it was great,” Hennessy said. For her, leaving the water polo team is bittersweet.
Hennessy said, “I’m just excited to be here with my team for one last year and excited to be building my skills for college. I’m sad that I’ll be leaving but I’m excited to come back, you know, for alumni games or to just watch the juniors and underclassmen playing.” She thinks this team gave her a great foundation to continue playing water polo.
The game against Castro Valley was a difficult one for Berkeley. The opponents put a shot in quickly during the first quarter, but Berkeley’s defense rebounded and managed to keep them from scoring again up until after halftime. During the third quarter, Castro Valley and Berkeley continuously went shot for shot, with both teams scoring four goals each. However, in the fourth quarter Castro Valley put two more quick shots in, ending the game with Berkeley losing 7-4. Even with the loss, honoring the seniors was a bonding moment for the water polo team.