Glendale High School Girls Water Polo Heritage
Meet the girls teams from the 1990's
Click here to see the teams from the 2000s
Pacific League Action

GHS GIRLS HISTORY

No one will ever know what kept the mental giants at the CIF office from recognizing girls water polo as an official team sport until the 1996-1997 season. Before that time, known here as the "Dark Ages", any girls who wanted to play water polo had to practice and compete on the boys team. As a result only a handful of ladies in the last 40 years played water polo at GHS, but the ones who did were among the toughest and best female players Glendale High has ever had. They are the pioneers.

In 1997 GHS fielded its first CIF-sanctioned water polo team. The CIF had just one division for all the schools and there were no CIF playoffs in the first year. There was an all-CIF team selected. Allison Speer was on that team.

1997
Coach Carol Driffill
2nd place in league

The Big Three...Speer,
Weber and Widmar.
Coach Driffill

In 1997 the first official GHS girls team was formed and was highly successful. Coached by Carol Driffill, the squad finished second in Pacific League play behind Crescenta Valley. The star of the Nitro team was Shauna Weber. Weber was the league's best goalie and also among its best field players. In that inaugural season, GHS blasted Hoover twice, 22-1 and 16-2 and beat Muir and Arcadia twice. Allison Speer, who was selected to the prestigious All-CIF (third team), and Ashley Widmar were also standouts for GHS. Pasadena High did not field a girls' team until the next year (1998 season) so the league was comprised of Arcadia, CV, GHS, Hoover and Muir. There was no league tournament held this season. The teams in league played each other twice. Glendale finished with a league record of 6-2.

1998
Coach Carol Driffill
CIF playoffs
2nd place in league

Led by Allison Speer, GHS again finished second in league, this time to Arcadia. GHS finished with an overall record of 13-9 and picked up its first wins over defending league champion Crescenta Valley, 6-3 and 8-4, but lost to Arcadia, 16-4 in the league finals. The Lady Nitros continued their win streak against Hoover, beating the Tornadoes, 13-2. In CIF, GHS lost in the first round of the CIF playoffs against Dos Pueblos, 14-10. Catherine Richelieu was a top player for GHS.

Even though she had made the All-CIF team the year before, Speer did not make the team this year because there was no one at the All-CIF meeting to nominate her. She went on to play at USC where she was a member of the 1999 national collegiate champions and an NCAA Academic All-American.

1999
Coach Carol Driffill
CIF playoffs
3rd place in league

Muir and Crescenta Valley highs shared the league title and Glendale placed third.

At the league tournament GHS lost to CV 9-8 in the first round of play and the Falcons were beaten by Muir in the title game. GHS, which had lost to Arcadia in the beginning of the season, avenged the 7-4 loss with a 7-5 win in the league finals to place third. The win put the Nitros in the CIF playoffs. GHS finished with an overall mark of 17-8 and was 3-4 in league play. The girls opened CIF play in a wild card game against Pasadena Poly. GHS won 15-4. In the first round game they were beaten by Agoura, 11-5. Erin Morrow and Megan Scott both earned first team all-league for GHS and sophomore Cassie Bassanetti and junior Kristina Garcia made second team honors.
GHS beat Hoover 6-3.