Eight teams set their sights on men's and women's water polo state championships at West Valley this weekend

Eight teams set their sights on men's and women's water polo state championships at West Valley this weekend
November 15, 2018

CCCAA WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP
 Nov. 16-17 l Saratoga, Calif. (West Valley College)
Brackets: Men l Women
Tournament Headquarters (live video, recaps, photos, schedule)

SARATOGA - The California Community College water polo world descends upon Saratoga this weekend for the 2018 CCCAA State Championships. Two-time defending champion and #1 SoCal seed Golden West leads a strong men's field that includes North #1 and 2017 runner-up West Valley.

The women's side features North #1 Sierra, the 2017 runner-up, the South's top seed, Fullerton, and South #2 Santa Barbara City the 2017 defending champion.

Brief previews of the eight finalists follow:

Women
 North #1 Sierra (27-2-2, 10-0 Big 8)
 The NorCal champions advanced to the state tourney with an intense 10-9 win over Big 8 foe San Joaquin Delta in last weekend's final at West Valley. The Wolverines feature two of the top scorers in the Big 8 in Shanti Reisinger (64 goals) and Rory Nuuhiva (56). Goalkeeper Danielle Brown is the state leader in saves (272) and wins (28). The Wolverines are fourth in the CCCAA in goals-per-game (12.58) and total goals (390).  Coach Scott Decker's Wolverines played in their first state final in 2017, falling to Santa Barbara City 8-6.

South #1 Fullerton (28-2, 6-1 Orange Empire)
 The Hornets edged Santa Barbara City 11-9 in a pressure-packed SoCal final last week at Cerritos. Fullerton has three scorers with 60 or more goals on the season: Abigail Nunez (66) and Bryanna Santis (66) and Alexandra Lopez (60). Keeper Tatiana Cava has 235 saves and a .576 save percentage heading to the championships. The Hornets are second in the state in total goals (407) and third in goals-per-game (13.57).  Under coach Gabriel Martinez, Fullerton won the championship in 2014 and was the runner-up in 2012.  

North #2 San Joaquin Delta (21-10, 8-2 Big 8)
 The Mustangs are making their fourth consecutive visit to the state championships. After finishing second to Sierra in the Big 8 in the regular season, Delta lost a 10-9 heartbreaker to the Wolverines in the NorCal final in Saratoga. Coach Nathan Varosh's offensive attack is led by Maddie Wittkowske (63 goals) and Leti Mosqueda (47), while GK Tahlia Pou has stopped 181 shots, a .547 save percentage, heading into this weekend.

South #2 Santa Barbara City (30-3, 8-0 Western State)
 The Vaqueros captured the 2017 state title, after finishing second to Riverside City in 2016. Coach Chucky Roth's squad boasts the state's top scorer in Emma Fraser, who has found the back of the cage 120 times through last weekend. Sarah Parson follows Fraser with 63 goals. The Vaqueros top the state in total goals (415) and are fith in goals-per-game (12.58). Keeper Nicole Poulos has stopped 169 shots, a .515 save percentage.

Men
 North #1 West Valley (22-5, 6-0 Coast)
 The NorCal champions advanced to the championships by holding off Coast foe Merced 15-6 in the NorCal championship last weekend in Saratoga. The Vikings have captured four state titles since 2000, six overall. The WVC offense is paced by Enrico De Munno (64 goals), Xavier Domingo (64) and Misael Andino (53). Keepers Marko Kruska and Dylan Woodhouse have split time in the cage this year with Woodhouse topping the state charts with 44 goals against and Kruska second with 52. Coach Willo Rodriguez's Vikings fell to Golden West 10-8 in the 2017 championship at Cuesta.

South #1 Golden West (24-1, 5-0 Orange Empire)
 The Rustlers will be making their 32nd and 17th consecutive appearance at the state championships. The two-time defending champs advanced to the 2018 tourney with an 11-6 win over LA Valley in last Saturday's SoCal championship in Norwalk. Peyton Collins (59 goals) and Manuel Augusto (54) lead coach Scott Taylor's offense. Keeper Andrew Cameron has stopped shots at a .611 clip. The Rustlers topped West Valley 10-8 in the 2017 final and, in the 2016 championship, beat Long Beach City 15-8. 

North #2 Merced (27-6, 7-1 Coast)
 Merced is looking to make its first appearance in a championship final after falling to West Valley 15-6 in the NorCal finals. Coach Scott McCall's Blue Devils have the state's top scorer, Connor Norton, who has notched 162 goals heading into the championships. Fellow attacker Jeff Runyan has 70 goals on the year. Devil keepers P.J. Ornelas and Logan Friesen have split time in the crease, with Ornelas recording 130 saves (.466 save percentage) and Friesen stopping 100 shots (.422). The Blue Devils last appeared in the state tournament in 2002.

South #2 LA Valley (24-5, 6-0 Western State)
 The Monarchs are also looking for their first championship game berth.  LA Valley fell to Golden West 11-6 in last week's SoCal final. Coach Scott McMillan has a potent attack led by Dava Arakelyan (78 goals), Luis Brunner (67) and Aren Sukisyan (58). GK Tony Gevorkian leads the state with 23 wins and has made 222 saves for a .622 save percentage. The Monarchs have won five consecutive Western State Conference championships under McMillan. 

(Matt Folsom, West Valley College Athletics)