Boys’ water polo placed 3rd at the annual North Coast Section-Central Coast Section Water Polo Challenge. The tournament was held at Saint Francis, Los Gatos, Acalanes, and Campolindo on September 27 and 28. Sacred Heart Prep took 1st place, and Miramonte finished 2nd.
According to the tournament coordinator for Acalanes, Meg Reid, the tournament’s official name is the Richison NCS-CCS Challenge. The tournament was named after Ron Richison, who coached water polo at both Campolindo and Acalanes. The CCS includes schools on the California peninsula, including Mountain View, Sacred Heart Prep, Los Altos, Los Gatos, San Benito, Salinas, Palo Alto, Aptos, Mitty, Homestead, and Live Oak.
The purpose of the tournament is to give an “opportunity for the local teams to play each other” and to raise money for the 4 host schools, according to Reid.
Each school had to pay a $400 fee to register for the event. Additional revenue came from the gate fees, which were $5 for each adult. Campolindo goalie coach Robbie Graves said the tournament also helps them “size up other teams.”
A total of 32 teams played in the tournament, with 16 teams from NCS and 16 from CCS. Each team played 4 games.
In the Cougars 1st game, they won against Soquel with a score of 13-7. Head coach Miles Price was pleased with the outcome. “The 1st game is typically an easier game, and in the past, we haven’t dominated like I’d like them to,” Price said.
Next, Campolindo played De La Salle, winning 14-7. Senior team captain Grant Sivesind was surprised at the large margin of victory because they won by only 3 points when they played De La Salle on September 10, in the preseason.
In the 3rd game, Campolindo lost to Sacred Heart Prep with a final score of 11-7. However, they won their final game against Bellarmine 11-7.
The tournament’s results do not affect DFAL standings, but do affect overall standings used to determine seeding in the post season. Overall, the Campolindo team has 6 wins and 1 loss.
Sivesind believes the tournament placings are a good indicator of the teams’ abilities, including Miramonte and Campolindo. “We both only lost once, and both of us lost to Sacred Heart, so it should be a good game,” said Sivesind.
