T he feeling of a sisterhood among the Spartan water polo players shows, but for two of them the bond is much stronger. Senior Dottie West and sophomore Neva West have been playing together at San Jose State University for two years. Although the sibling duo both said they're not competitive with each other, their coach thinks they work well together against opponents. They're very competitive.
Every coach likes that.
Both players grew up competing, but it was always in swimming until about 5 or 6 years ago. The Salinas natives said they became interested in water polo because they had brothers who played, and they were tired of competing as swimmers year after year. Although they both had an interest in water polo, it was Dottie, the elder of the two at 22, to first break into the sport. The lack of attention towards women's sports is how Neva explained why there wasn't a women's water polo team at their high school, Salinas High. However, that didn't stop Dottie.