By Pete Borello
When Dana Saign began a series of tryouts in the spring to make the local Pacific Zone girls water polo team, she didn’t expect to make the final cut.
“Not at all,” the Mountain View resident said. “You see girls who are so good, you’re not sure how far you’ll go. I just played hard and hoped for the best.”
And the best happened.
Last month Saign was one of 39 girls selected to play for the Bay Area’s Pacific Zone team, which she called “a big deal.” More than 150 girls, ages 15-18, tried out for the team.
The team was then divided into three squads: the top-13 players competed in the Pacific Zone Tournament; the other two traveled to San Diego for the California State Games.
Saign and two of her St. Francis High teammates - Atherton residents Molly Hayes and Lindsey Bacolini - went to San Diego in mid-July to play against Pacific Zone teams from other regions of California.
The trip proved successful for the three Lancers, who helped their respective teams win medals at the four-day event.
Bacolini and her 18-and-under teammates earned the silver medal by placing second. The 16-and-under team Saign and Hayes played on seized the bronze by finishing third.
“It was a lot of fun,” Saign said of the San Diego experience. “I met a lot of girls from different high schools. I learned to play with girls from all over and adjusted to playing a faster game.”
Saign also learned that when it comes to girls water polo, the Bay Area is ahead of the south.
“Our area probably ran the best program,” said Saign, a field player. “The Southern California teams aren’t as organized or as high-caliber.”
And Saign should know good water polo: she plays for one of the state’s best high school teams at St. Francis.
Last season Saign, Bacolini and Hayes helped the Lancers claim the Central Coast Section championship.
Saign expects St. Francis to content for the title again this season.
“I think we’ll be good,” the incoming junior said. “We all played club (water polo) together this summer, which should really help us.”
