By Megan Kelley

Review Writer

Lake Orion High School’s varsity girls water polo team is back in action for their 2022 season, starting off with a 1-2 record.

The ladies had their first game of the season late last month against East Lansing High School, falling to the Trojan’s 16-8.

A little less than two weeks later on April 5, the Dragons were back in the pool, this time facing off against Troy High School. The Dragons were able to control the pace for a majority of the game, defeating the Troy United team 13-9.

On Friday, the Dragons took on Birmingham Seaholm, falling to the Maples 15-4.

With their first three games complete, it seems the early competition may be a decent indicator for what to expect for the rest of the season.

“There’s going to be some tough competition out there, but I think, definitely within our own district, we’ll be very competitive,” said head coach Julia White.

Lake Orion’s district, district 5, has both Birmingham Seaholm and Groves, as well as Grand Blanc, Walled Lake and Troy United. The Dragons currently hold fourth place in the district, just above Troy United (5th) and just below Birmingham Seaholm (3rd).

“We’re looking forward most to our district games,” White said. “We play Troy again and then Walled Lake we play in a few weeks and I think that will be a very competitive game.”

Lake Orion’s water polo team, unlike most other teams at LOHS, is a united team with players from both Lake Orion and Clarkston high schools.

Captains this year are Dakota Guldi, Jenna Manganello and Madi Gordon.

As the season progresses, the ladies have their eye on a regional run.

“Our biggest goal is to make it to regionals. Last year, we lost in districts so we didn’t make it on to regionals but, with how our team’s playing this year, I think that’s definitely our biggest goal,” White said.

White, who has been head coach of the girls team for two years, also hopes to further develop the skills of her younger players.

“We have a lot of seniors graduating this year, so developing all of those new players so that we can continue to have a good program in the future (is important),” said White.

With a majority of COVID-19 protocols essentially ended, the season looks a bit different then last year just by way of practicing.

“This year we’re able to have a lot more hands-on instruction. I can actually go in and show the girls how to do things rather than just explain it,” White said. “We’re able to have more contact days, we’re actually able to have more physical in-person contact practices and I can already see a lot of improvement with that.”

The Dragons United team is back in action on April 14 against Birmingham Groves at 6 p.m. at Groves High School.