The water polo teams’ senior night games against Santa Clara High School were bittersweet, with the girls losing 2-1 and the boys winning 12-10 on Oct. 21, 2025.
The varsity boys won after a comeback from a 6-8 score in the first half of the game. The varsity girls lost by a narrow margin after a strategic play from Santa Clara’s goalie, who held the ball and ran out the clock in the final quarter.
Following the last game of the night, coach Kyler Van Swol hosted a ceremony honoring senior athletes from both Milpitas and Santa Clara. Each senior’s name was announced, and they were presented with a yellow rose.
The win was a pivotal moment for boys’ water polo, as it showed they were capable of beating Santa Clara, senior co-captain Logan Kheylik said.
“For leagues, if we keep going at the rate we are, I have no doubt in my mind that we’re going to go to CCS this year,” Kheylik said.
Competing in CCS has been a four-year-long dream for the senior water polo athletes, Kheylik said.
“These last four years have been nothing short of incredible,” Kheylik said. “I’m going to miss the team. I loved all of them so much throughout. They keep me going every day.”
In a sport like water polo, it’s important to focus on maintaining team chemistry, Kheylik said.
“If I could give next year’s team any advice, I would tell them to really enjoy it,” Kheylik said. “Work hard. I have no doubt that if they put in enough effort and they have good team chemistry, they can do great things and especially go to CCS.”
The win against Santa Clara also determined where the boys’ team will be seeded for leagues, senior co-captain and goalie Ryan Saxelby said.
“It meant a lot, since we were playing the then-second seed in the league,” Saxelby said. “It meant that we were able to go head to head with them and beat them for a second time, earning us the top spot in the league.”
Some aspects of water polo would be missed, while others wouldn’t, Saxelby reflected.
“I think the people that you meet make it special — and the memories that you make during practice and after practice,” Saxelby said.
Senior Sophia Su has been playing water polo for four years, usually in the driver offense position, she said.
“My favorite part of the season is actually winning quite a few games,” Su said.
Girls’ varsity water polo didn’t win any games last year, Su said. However, this season saw improvement, with the team winning five games, she added.
“The most challenging part was just showing up to practice because I feel like my senioritis is starting up,” Su said.
Water polo practice runs for two to three hours after school every day, Su said.
“I would say it’s really good to actually be positive to your teammates instead of criticizing, and to try positive reinforcement and positive encouragement,” Su said when asked what advice she would give next year’s team.
Senior Emma Nguyen has been playing water polo for three years, usually as wing or driver, she said.
“I think it would have been better this season if we had pushed ourselves a little more and practiced playing our positions better,” Nguyen said. “That way we could improve on our offense, as we’re not as great on that.”
The most challenging part of water polo is playing better teams and trying to improve individual skills, Nguyen said.
“I will definitely miss my team and all the memories that we made,” Nguyen said.
Her favorite part of the season was getting wins and going out to celebrate with the rest of the team, Nguyen added.
“I would say just have fun and try your best,” Nguyen said when asked for her advice for next year’s team. “And definitely show up to preseason because that helps you improve a lot, and it gets you conditioned for the real thing.”
