Water polo will compete against Southlake Carroll at the Westside Aquatic Center Oct. 10. The girls will play at 5:30 p.m. and boys will play at 6:30 p.m. For the past two years, Southlake has knocked both teams out of the playoffs.
The girls team faced Denton Ryan for bi-district Oct. 6 and won 19-3. The team has a record of 20-8.
“We’re trying to keep our morale high,” center defender Mia Slaughter said. “We’re trying to stay positive and hype everybody up no matter what position they play, be kind to one another and respect each other so we can play well Friday.”
The girls faced Southlake during a preseason tournament, losing 17-8. Hawks don’t play against Southlake in the regular district, and only face them during playoffs.
“If we win against Southlake, we have to play a team we played during districts,” Slaughter said. “The games were close at one point, but we also lost against them, so it’s going to be a very interesting matchup.”
Southlake girls have gone to state three times in a row, although not placing. If the team beats Southlake they will advance to regional quarterfinals.
“I expect a lot of high intensity, because I know it’s going to be a good game against them,” utility Abigail Cho said. “We are trying to win overall, so we [could] go against Prosper, which would be an easier [game].”
The boys team faced Denton Ryan for bi-district Oct. 6 and won 23-7. The team has a current record of 26-4.
The boys faced Southlake twice during preseason, losing once 9-7 then again winning 13-10. Southlake boys are ranked fourth in Texas, while the Hawks are ranked fifth.
“Our biggest struggle is going to be adjusting if our offense doesn’t go to plan, and knowing that if we’re down it’s still a good game,” utility Kane Mackin said. “They have two of the strongest players in the state, one of the best coaches in the state and are very organized.”
The team has been practicing moving players into different positions, including seniors Brayden Guilbault and Dane Johnson, to prepare. Their goal is to try and get the best probability to score offensively, while keeping up defensively.
“We are a lot more prepared now and we have good skill and good team chemistry,” Macklin said. “If we do well, and put as much score as we want on top of them, we will be pretty confident going into the Prosper game as well as the Marcus game.”
