Last year, the Cambridge water polo team had the opportunity of attending the state championship tournament, but they came home without a single victory.

This year, they managed to beat some of the best teams in the state to earn second at that same tournament.

In their first round, the team faced off against Atlanta Public Schools and won 6-1. They then advanced to semifinals, where they won 9-8 against Collins Hill High School.

Advancing to finals, they went up against the undefeated Dalton High School, who had previously won every game by over a 10-point margin. The game ended with Dalton winning 13-7, which was their closest score all season.

“This season was by far the most successful season Cambridge water polo has experienced, and with a bench of 29 players and only three of which are graduating, the future is bright for this program,” said Head Water Polo Coach Lauren Hall in an email.

The success of the season has come hard-earned — many of the new players had not played water polo before.

“We started off not knowing a lot and got better as the season went on,” said water polo player Sydney Chambers.

Hall said the team hopes to continue its legacy in future seasons and cultivate its players to be the best.

“We would like to look into have multiple squads next year since we had so many players,” she said.

“We have the option of having an “A” and a “B” team, but we could also have a boys’ team and a girls’ team if we wanted to,” Hall said. “Many of the girls say they would like to continue to play with the boys because it challenges them and because it’s more fun to play with a mixture of people.”

If the team were to split, the “A” team would be for experienced or returning players to strengthen their competition skills, while the “B” team would be for newer members to learn their way around the game.

Whatever the outcome may be for the program, the players are enthusiastic for the seasons to come.

“I loved having such an awesome and fun team to be apart of!” said water polo player Brooke McLain in an email. “I do want to play throughout high school because of the awesome experience I’ve had.”