After a heartbreaking loss in the section championship for the Bombers, the water polo season has officially come to an end. Last year marked the first year of the women’s water polo program in Cannon Falls, and to no surprise, it started out rough, yet after the tough season last year, the Bombers shocked the world with their performance for the 2024-25 season. The season ended with a record of twenty-one wins and two losses, compared to last year’s two wins and twenty-one losses.

Senior Emily Breland joined the team this year and was a breakout star. When asked why she decided to join the team this year, Breland explained, “I decided to join the water polo team so I could learn to swim.” Previously she did not know how to swim and was never able to go to the deep end of the pool, but this year completely changed that. Coming into the season, the Bomber’s coach was very concerned about Breland joining the team due to her inability to swim, however, she beat the odds and was one of the strongest players for the Bomber’s. Breland mentioned her favorite part of the season was the team’s win over the Lake City Tigers on January 7th. The game was a thriller, going into overtime and ending with a buzzer-beater goal from breakout star Emily Breland.

Chloe Sjoquist was another senior for the Bombers this year, she expressed that she enjoys playing because she gets “to connect with [her] team and work together for a common goal.” Sjoquist believes that the Bomber’s biggest strength this season, which was a huge improvement from last season, was their ability to tread water, a key aspect of the sport. She explained that they worked really hard on treading water during practice, which paid off in their games. Many teams received penalties for girls touching the bottom of the pool, but Sjoquist emphasized that the Bombers did not have the same issue.

This season marked the second season for the Bomber’s water polo team, it was much better than last year, yet ended with a heartbreaking loss in the section championship. Although this season was much better than the last, next year is not looking so bright. Breland, a breakout star and senior for the Bombers, will not be returning next season and she believes “the team will struggle a little bit. Especially since [she is] graduating and [she] happens to be the star player.”