The Pitman Pride water polo teams gave Sonora High School a run for their money during a preseason matchup at Pitman High School’s pool Tuesday afternoon with both varsity and junior varsity teams taking the win.

Both girls and boys varsity teams stayed in the lead throughout most the duration of the games, though both teams kept persistent for their hard-earned wins.

The varsity girls won 11-8 against Sonora, further prepping the team for their tournament in Rocklin this upcoming weekend.

“This was the most physical team they’ve played by far,” Pitman girls coach Michaela Solario said. “I was very happy how they kept themselves together and continued to play.”

Coach Solario explained that she wanted to treat the game like a scrimmage and give most of her players some time in the pool.

“I have like eight or nine that are going to be in the rotation,” Solario said. “I’m trying to figure out what the best lineup will be.”

Erin Tait led the Pitman girls with four goals, helping keep up their undefeated run this season.

“They played very well as a team,” Solario said. “Looking across cage… communicating well with each other, I was very impressed with how calm and collected they kept while under pressure.”

Then it was the Pitman varsity boys turn to hold their home pool, with players Alex Selee and Nathan Olson being the team’s top scorers in their 17-9 win against Sonora.

Varsity boys coach Ryan Bullard was very pleased with the outcome of their scrimmage.

“We did really well with our transitions from defense to offense,” Bullard said. “We’re looking down line and finding our open guys.”

The Pitman Pride boys kept up their momentum even when under pressure.

“We’re finally finishing some good shots,” Bullard said. “We’re still working out our 2-meter defense and calling our teammates back for help, but overall we had a great scrimmage.”

While certainly a tough game, the Pitman boys held their own and finished strong. 

The Pride have their next match and first league game in Atwater on Sept. 18.