Bainbridge High School Girls Make Run for Title at State Tournament
The Bainbridge Spartans girls water polo team showed incredible resilience this season, making it all the way to the state championship game despite not having a home pool to train in.
The No. 2 seed Spartans (11–2) set the tone in the opening round of the state tournament on May 29, controlling the tempo and defeating No. 7 seed Rogers 18–7 at Curtis High School in Tacoma. Senior Grace Rich opened the scoring with an immediate close-range goal, sparking Bainbridge’s early lead. The Spartans kept the momentum going with back-to-back goals on the next two possessions, building a 3–1 advantage.
In the second quarter, sophomore Ruthie Screen added to the tally with the first goal of the period, followed by a strike from Evie Atchison that extended Bainbridge’s lead. By halftime, the Spartans were firmly in control, up 10–5.
“I think it was more about setting the tempo for us to have a good weekend,” Rich said.
The Spartans carried that energy into the second half. Senior Llana Gonzales and Rich scored back-to-back goals to open the third quarter, pushing Bainbridge ahead 12–6. Neither team found much rhythm offensively in the fourth, but Rich added one more goal late to secure a commanding 17–7 lead with just a minute left.
“At halftime, we just acknowledged that we weren’t playing in our system and getting in our heads,” said head coach Kristin Gellert. “So we shifted and decided to go for every ball like it was ours.”
Bainbridge kept rolling in the semifinals, dominating Kennedy Catholic 15–2 to punch their ticket to the championship game.
On May 31, the Spartans faced a familiar foe—Curtis—in a rematch of last year’s state final. Bainbridge, a 2A school, battled hard against the 4A powerhouse and kept things close early, but the Vikings pulled away and secured a 15–8 victory for their fourth straight title.
What made Bainbridge’s run especially remarkable was the journey to get there. With their home pool closed for construction, the Spartans practiced wherever they could find water. The team spent more than 70 hours traveling to and from practices, hauling gear, and adjusting to new facilities. Much of their training even took place in small square dive tanks—just a fraction of the size of a regulation pool.
“Being the only 2A school represented at the state tournament, on top of not having a home pool available, we were proud of the accomplishment to even make it to the championship game,” Gellert said.
The Spartans’ season stands as a testament to their determination, adaptability, and teamwork—qualities that carried them through every obstacle and will continue to shape the program moving forward.