WHITTIER, Calif. — Moving through the water is like second nature to La Serna High School senior Annabella Rapp — almost as routine for her as competition.

“I pretty much learned how to swim when I was still a baby and then I started swimming and doing water polo competitively when my brother joined a team," she said. "So I started going to his practices with him.”


What You Need To Know

  • Annabella Rapp is a La Serna senior who excels as a water polo player and in the classroom.

  • As a sophomore, she helped the Lancers to win a CIF championship.

  • She was also the 2020-2021 Del Rio League MVP and made the All-CIF list.

  • In the classroom, Rapp is an excellent student, part of the National Honor Society and Principal's Honor Roll.

From swimming alongside her older brother, to as part of a team with the Lancers, Rapp was a natural. Ask her, and it’s almost as if she was destined to play this sport specifically.

“It’s just so fun," she said. "There’s always a next level to reach, a new shot to learn, a better team — there’s just always something to get better on.”

Always something to prove, always a new skill to improve upon. But that’s just who Rapp is, whether it’s here in the pool as a water polo player, or back in the classroom, she's a natural born competitor. You could say it runs in the family.

"My brother is a grade older than me so I always wanted to beat his grades, and I always wanted to get the highest grades possible and beat him on AP test scores," she said. "I’m like, 'Oh, I got one point higher than you.'"

More so than just wanting to be the best though, Rapp is all about being her best. While balancing a full slate of advanced classes, coupled with two different sports teams, and volunteer work might be a lot to handle, Rapp still finds reasons to smile every day.

“It's just looking on the bright side of my classes," she explained. "What I see as a fun thing to do.”

And it's that attitude and energy that her classmates, teammates, and head coach John Pringle have really come to admire.

“That’s a girl that gives her all, all the time," Pringle said. "There’s never a doubt she’s giving 100 percent, you know you’re getting the best from her.”

While she’s a stellar teammate, Pringle says, Rapp still manages to stand out from the pack.

“She’s ideal, she’s awesome. I know I’m going to miss her next year," he said. "Having someone like that is someone you would hope for, but it’s not always what you’re going to get.”

Rapp the perfect example of exactly what it means to be a scholar athlete. For her, it’s all part of the bigger plan — after all, she still has goals to check off her list.

“I definitely want to go to college and play in college," she said. "Just continue to do what I’m doing now which is school and sports.”

Rapp may be a senior, but to her, the competition is just getting started.