This game — the one in the water with the yellow ball and players swimming back and forth trying to put that ball into a net — is fun for Ilene Umansky.
It's fun to score and it's fun to learn about water polo for Umansky.
Two years ago, the Estancia High senior saw a water polo ball up close for the first time when she went out to play for the girls' team. She quickly picked up the game even though she didn't swim properly.
Instead of the traditional freestyle stroke, she used somewhat of a breaststroke or even dog paddle when she first played water polo as a sophomore. But she always seemed to have a knack to score.
She scored a team-high 82 goals and earned first-team All-Orange Coast League honors in her sophomore year when she led the Eagles to their first CIF playoff berth in five years. Last year, she put in 119 goals, an Estancia single-season record that was No. 4 in Orange County for the 2011-12 season. That put her on the Daily Pilot Dream Team with more first-team all-league recognition.