Turning the tides of a losing streak with their first win of the season, the Brahmas ruled the water against the Santa Monica Corsairs, 14-7.
Before jumping into the pool for the match, the team had a pep talk that gave them a confidence they didn’t show before. Being on home turf, the women readied themselves for a good game.
In past games, the women were not matching up to the opposing teams. Assistant coach Samantha Buliavac said this game showed the women’s true potential.
“In this game, everything was perfect. There are some little kinks we have to work on, but other than that, the team that I saw play today I haven’t seen all season,” Buliavac said.
Whether through passes or positioning throughout various situations in the water, previous problems had the team communicating more effectively.
“It was a really great game playing against a team that was about our level,” Buliavac said. “The fact that we started with little experience, and winning this game, really shows the growth and that’s really exciting.”
Having practice at 6 a.m. is difficult for the team sometimes, but the coaches are consistently their to help. Swimming drills, setting up plays and scoring goals during practice helps the team grow and as a result of their discipline and training they got their first win.
“We’ve been swimming a lot more because in the beginning we were out of shape and just more swimming was needed. They put up a fight the whole way through, putting us back on defense and being careful,” said Tamar Kazanjian, team captain.
Kazanjian lead and supported her team wherever possible. Stephanie Rodriguez, driver, really wore down the other team by simply playing her part.
“The more tired they are the harder it is for them to play and Stephanie did an excellent job in swimming them. She was at almost every counter attack and that’s something to be proud of,” explained Buliavac.
Both teams were nearly even in skill making it a good match for both the Brahmas and the Corsairs.
“This is one of our best games yet because every game we say, ‘Let’s not get above this much or this much,’ so it was the best thing we could’ve hoped for,” said Gini Guz, team captain for Santa Monica.
Lysandra Carter, coach for the Corsairs, said this game provided learning opportunities. Santa Monica was able to fully grasp the challenges of playing a full team making it beneficial because of the one-to-one ratio of players.
“They gave my girls some challenges which is good for them. Made them really work together and come together as a team,” Carter said. “It’s hard for us to practice because we don’t have enough players to practice a six-on-six at home.”
The Brahmas play next at Los Angeles Valley College on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 3:30 p.m.
