Orange Lutheran girls water polo is back in action this month, and the Lancers have a new head coach in Melissa Seidemann who is looking to continue the program's recent success.

"My personal coaching style is very direct and straightforward, so I hope to help the girls find their voice in the water and grow as individuals as we're hopefully having success on our win-loss record as well," says Seidemann.

The program is fielding 33 athletes across the JV and varsity teams this season, including a strong senior class. At OLu's Athletic Signing Day earlier this month, six Lancers committed to continue their water polo careers at the collegiate level – Allison Cohen (Stanford), Cali Craft (UCI), Emma Galaz (Concordia Irvine), London Mellon (LMU), Elizabeth Nicoloff (UCSB) and Ella Treglia (UCSB). 

Seidemann has seen steady leadership from the entire senior group in the short time she has been with the program.

"We have a lot of really great seniors, and they've all kind of banded together and stepped up to support this group in time of transition," says Seidemann. 

The coaching staff is expecting strong seasons from Cohen, who is the reigning Orange County Player of the Year, as well as senior Estelle Karaba and juniors Bella Jergensen and Eve Webb.

On the schedule for the Lancers are a number of competitive tournaments, including the Bill Barnett Holiday Cup (December 19-20), the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions (January 9-10) and the SoCal Champs Tournament (January 23-24). 

In addition to Trinity League opponents, OLu will play key matches this year against Oaks Christian (January 17) and Newport Harbor (January 20). League play begins on January 15 when the Lancers host Mater Dei.

Seidemann expects the team to be competitive in the CIF Open Division this year, with a clear goal of returning to the top spot, a goal she believes is well within reach. She sees a unified group already and plans to continue building on the strong relationships they have formed.

"Coming into this group, I'm looking forward to guiding them and teaching them how to take that love they already feel for each other and show it through water polo moves," says Seidemann. "Not just cheering for each other, but actually showing up for each other while we're playing the game. I'm really excited. I think this team has an awesome potential to be super unified in a cohesive group, and I'm really excited to be part of it."