Audrina Kang (2025), Miramonte Lady Mats Polo & Collegiate Water Polo Player

Read on as Audrina Kang (2025) Lady Mats & Collegiate Water Polo player shares her experiences playing water polo at Miramonte and her path to play water polo in college this fall. Audrina also provides an update on the Lady Mats Water Polo Season and offers some sage advice as a recent Miramonte graduate.

Please tell us a little about yourself and your history with Orinda Schools and Miramonte High School.

AK: I’ve lived in Orinda since I was 4 and grew up in the OUSD and AUHSD school system; I attended Sleepy Hollow Elementary, Orinda Intermediate School (OIS), and Miramonte. My brother, Hudson (12), just completed 7th grade at OIS.

Can you tell us what your plans are for this summer and the fall? 

AK: This summer, I’ll be playing club water polo with Lamorinda, as well as working at Bay Area Ballplayers, a local gym and multi-sport training facility in Moraga. In the fall, I’ll be attending Indiana University - Bloomington to play water polo and study business in the Kelley School of Business. 

Did you have any favorite Miramonte courses or teachers? 

AK: My favorite course at Miramonte was journalism and The Mirador because I loved English so it was a great way to continue writing outside of English class. Still, it was also so fun because there was a lot of class collaboration, and I got to hang out with many of my friends.

One of my most influential teachers was Mrs. Nastor, whom I had for English 2 and English 4. She not only cared about me as a student, but she also cared for me as a person; she always asked how my day was and listened when I talked about something related to water polo. Her class was also so entertaining, so I enjoyed attending every day.

What is your greatest sports or personal accomplishment so far? 

AK: My greatest accomplishment in the pool would be winning CIF in my junior year. This was one of my greatest achievements because during the 2023 season, we ran into a lot of challenges including losing around 7 seniors who were all key members on our team. One of the biggest setbacks we had was losing our 72-game winning streak to Acalanes. After that significant loss, our team struggled to figure out what was wrong. As the season went on, we continued to work hard, and it all paid off when we played Acalanes in the semis of CIF and beat them 10-3. We then continued on to beat Campo, our rivals, in the championship game to secure our 3rd CIF win in a row. 

Can you share with us a bit about your path with water polo? 

AK: I started playing water polo when I was 7 at Diablo Alliance club team; I had never done swim team before, so water polo was my first exposure to a water sport, and I loved it. I’m a lefty, so I play lefty attacker and that’s been a great advantage for me in water polo. I stuck with the sport 

What have you specifically enjoyed most about Lady Mats Water Polo? 

AK: Some of my favorite Miramonte memories were from Mats polo, and one of the biggest aspects I loved about the sport was the team bonding. Although the practices were extremely hard at times as we were training for our rivals Campolindo and Sacred Heart, the captains (myself included) made a huge effort to keep the team spirits up by taking the team out to surprise morning breakfasts, or having our annual dance off, and planning fun spirit days! Compared to prior seasons, my senior year may not have been as successful, as we finished 3rd at NCS and 2nd overall in the league, but I loved my senior year because our team was so close. 

Did you also swim on a summer rec team? 

AK: I started swimming rec at Sleepy Hollow Swim Club when I was 13 after my mom told me I needed to join the swim team to help with my water polo. Although I was very against swimming when I was younger, I quickly learned to enjoy the swim team with my friends, and one of my favorite memories was from OMPA 2024, when I had just gotten my digital camera, so my friends and I all vlogged with my camera. 

Looking ahead, are there specific ways you’d like to support current students in their academic and extracurricular pursuits?

AK: One way I’m planning to support current students at Miramonte is by checking in on them even when I’m away at college. I have a lot of underclassmen friends, and I always want to hear about their day and listen to anything interesting they want to tell me. Additionally, I hope that they will come to me if they need help both academically and athletically. I’ve told many of them about my experience, so I hope that they feel comfortable turning to me even though I’m no longer at Miramonte. 

Now that you are officially a Miramonte alum, do you have any words of wisdom for our current Miramonte students?

AK: I’m sure this piece of advice has been said many other times, but I find it to be the truest piece of advice: learn good time management skills. Whether it be using a calendar, a planner, or reminders on your phone, find a way to keep yourself disciplined and get your work done. As a student-athlete, I struggled at times to balance practices every day along with the large amounts of homework I had, but when I started using my calendar to track everything, it helped me stay a lot more organized. 

Also, a huge thing to not be afraid of is burnout. I faced burnout A LOT during my time at Miramonte, and so does everyone else. When you need a break, take it. If that means skipping a practice to catch up on work or sleeping in one day to help reset, take the time for yourself; it’ll help in the long run.