In one year, the San Benito High girls water polo team has gone from league afterthought to a championship contender.
Entering Thursday’s match against Santa Catalina, the Haybalers were 7-2 and riding a six-game winning streak, having won four straight at the Christopher Stinky Rose tournament last weekend.
There are a variety of reasons for the Haybalers’ dramatic turnaround, but perhaps none more important than this: The team has three—yes, three—sets of sisters on the team—all but one of whom are returning starters—and most of them played together during the off-season.
The three sets of sisters on the team include Erin and Ceily Hepner, Heather and Hayleigh Smith, and Rachel Smithee and Shannon Stephens, who are not related by blood but nonetheless sisters in every other way.
Stephens’ mom, Brenda, and Smithee’s father, Scot, got married when Shannon was 3 and Rachel was 2, respectively. The two seniors shared a room for a couple of years, and their bond grew stronger as the years went by.
“We became best friends once we entered high school,” said Smithee, a 6-foot-1 goalie.
The same goes for the Smiths, who like most siblings went through their usual skirmishes growing up but became best friends in high school. As two of seven children, the Smiths developed a strong bond because they’re only separated by a year—Heather is a senior and Hayleigh a junior.
“We hang out at school together, and I wouldn’t imagine going anywhere without her or doing anything without her because every single thing I do, she’s right by my side,” said Hayleigh, who is one of the best defenders in the MBL.
Even though the Smiths love playing the game, they’re driven to succeed because they had three older brothers—Christian, Joel and David—and an older sister—Hannah—who all had success in the sport.
Their father, Dean, swam and played water polo at USC, David played water polo and swam at UC-Santa Barbara and Joel is currently playing on the Denmark national team.
The Smiths also have a younger brother who is on the San Benito boys junior varsity squad. Talk about a water polo family of royalty.
“There’s always been pressure on us to try to beat our brothers because they were phenomenal,” said Heather Smith, a senior driver. “Our dad always hinted to us, ‘Hey, look at what they did.’ That was good for us, because it gave us extra motivation to become the best water polo players we could be.”
All of the siblings are close to one another, and in separate conversations the Hepners and Smiths razzed each other like only siblings can.
Ceily Hepner, a freshman driver, was only half kidding when she said that if she doesn’t get the ball to her big sister, Erin, a senior hole-set, she’ll hear it.
“I’ll get yelled at,” Ceily said with a laugh. “I know it’s my job to get the ball to our best players, and I look up to all of them and try to learn from them.”
Hayleigh Smith gave a perfect summary on the dynamics of having three sets of sisters on the team.
“It’s very chaotic, fun loving, we never get tired of each other, but at the same time we also get very annoyed by each other very often,” Hayleigh deadpanned.
All six players pointed out that since they know each other so well, it translates to a certain cohesiveness in the pool.
“There are a lot of mental connections we can make,” said Stephens, a senior driver. “We understand each other and what we’re trying to do, and sometimes you can tell just by the look on their face what they’re thinking.”
On Sept. 11, the Balers ripped Carmel, 21-5. The following two days they beat four opponents to win their first tournament in three or four years. Ronni Gautschi, the first-year San Benito coach who has been instrumental in turning the program around, actually guaranteed victory before the tournament.
Turns out she was prophetic.
“Ronni is a breath of fresh air,” Hayleigh Smith said. “She’s very passionate, and I like her coaching style a lot. Every girl on the team has a unique and loving relationship with her.”
For league matches, Gautschi usually only carries seven field players for the day, for the simple fact that the seven—the aforementioned three sets of sisters along with outstanding senior driver Riley Drexler and standout junior driver Grace Larson—are a cut above everyone else in the program.
Smithee, a 6-foot-1 goalie, might be the unlikeliest water polo success story out of everyone on the team considering that most of her significant swimming experience came when she received lessons at an early age.
Smithee only tried out for water polo because “everyone was telling me my aggressiveness would help me in water polo.” They were correct, as Smithee earned the starting goalie position on the varsity team by the middle of her sophomore season.
“It was definitely rough at first because I wasn’t a natural swimmer,” she said.
The Balers are a superior swimming team from last year because, well, they swim a lot more. They swim at least an hour a day, or for half of their practice. Sometimes the team will have two practices a days.
The Balers have a physical presence in Erin Hepner, who demands double teams from most opponents. But unlike last year, when the Balers relied too much on one player, everyone has more confidence in their playmaking abilities.
“It’s not a miracle that we returned the whole team back from the previous season, but you don’t get this opportunity often,” said Hepner, who earned tournament MVP honors at the Christopher tournament. “We’ve capitalized on this opportunity, and we’re enjoying every second of it.”
Whenever the 2014 season ends, whether it’s in the opening round of the Central Coast Section playoffs or in the later rounds, it will be an emotional scene.
“When you’re close with everyone on the team, it makes it that much more special,” Hayleigh Smith said. “Next year is going to be really hard because I can’t remember a day I haven’t spent without my sister for the last several years.”
