PHOTO GALLERY: Royals advance in Division 1 playoff

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PHOTO GALLERY INTRO: San Marcos cruised through the CIF Division I wild-card round on Tuesday, eliminating visiting Godinez 19-7.Hannah Koper recorded six goals and Halie Johnson contributed five more to the Royals attack. Riley Heiduk added three goals, as did JV call-up Kelsey Gellert."I think we played really well," Koper said. "We were fired up from the start and ready to go. We came out strong."San Marcos advances to Wednesday's first round. The Royals will travel to Foothill, … [Read more...]

Dons, Chargers, Royals at home for CIF water polo openers

Channel League co-champions Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos drew first-round home matches for the first round of the CIF Division 1 girls water polo playoffs.CIF PAIRINGSSanta Barbara (20-7), which won a coin-flip to be the league’s No. 1 team for the playoffs, will play Wednesday against the winner of the wild-card match between Edison and Peninsula. If the Dons win, they could face third-seeded Laguna Beach on Saturday.Dos Pueblos (16-11), the four-time defending CIF champion, will … [Read more...]

Gauchos top UCSD, then fall to unbeaten Arizona State

It was another perfect weekend for women's water polo when No. 16 UC Santa Barbara traveled down south for the UCSD Triton Invitational.UCSB (7-6) started off strong this morning, defeating host No. 18 UC San Diego 9-5, but suffered a tough loss against No. 5 Arizona State 7-5.The Gauchos came out fighting when they played the Tritons in their first match of the day. The Tritons took the first goal of the game, but sophomore Molly Hafferkamp responded with the first Gaucho goal of the … [Read more...]

Seniors lead the way in season finale for San Marcos

The San Marcos girls water polo team received valuable contributions from its seniors and routed Buena 12-2 at home on Friday to end the regular season.Hannah Turk led the team with four goals while Ashley Wagner put in three, and Kate Wood added two more. All three athletes will graduate this year."I was very happy to see the seniors go out and lead the attack," head coach Chuckie Roth said.The Royals finished the year with a 15-15 overall record and have qualified for the … [Read more...]

Nine different players score as Dons’ earn share of Channel League title

The Santa Barbara High girls water polo team routed Ventura on the road Thursday as nine different players scored in the 15-4 victory.The win puts Santa Barbara in a tie for first place in the Channel League with Dos Pueblos. The Dons defeated the Chargers earlier this week and will not finish below Dos Pueblos for the first time in five years.Santa Barbara has already won a coin flip that will give them the top seed going into the playoffs. Brackets will be released on … [Read more...]

Cate eliminated from playoffs in heartbreaking OT loss

The Cate School girls water polo lost out on a playoff spot after losing 4-3 at Oaks Christian on Wednesday.The Rams held a 3-2 lead until the host team tied the game with 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter.Caroline Montgomery, Maddie Schrager and Chloe King scored Cate's goals.Goalie Lela Puckett had an amazing match and recorded 18 saves. Many of her blocks were against point-blank shots, and the senior captain was instrumental in keeping the game close … [Read more...]

Royals clinch CIF berth with victory over Ventura

Hannah Koper scored five goals and Riley Heiduk added four to power San Marcos to a 12-7 win over visiting Ventura that clinched third place in the Channel League and a CIF playoff berth.“I’m proud of our team,” San Marcos coach Chuckie Roth said. “We’ve overcome obstacles. It’s been a long process and today we showed hard work pays off.”The Royals used an effective power play to build a 9-3 lead after three periods.“We were 0-for-7 the last time on our 6-on-5s and … [Read more...]

Carpinteria brings home first league water polo title

Carpinteria High’s girls water polo team made history on Tuesday.The Warriors routed Villanova Prep 19-1 to earn their first league title in program history. They’re co-champions with Malibu.“Fantastic,” said coach Bryan Swarm of winning the title. “It’s a culmination of hard work. “I’m really proud of them. We’ve been talking about believing in yourself and believing you can win. It’s OK to be a small school. You just got to work hard.”Swarm said the girls’ … [Read more...]

Dons fight off DP to earn a share of Channel League title

For the first time in five years, Santa Barbara will not be finishing second to Dos Pueblos in the Channel League girls water polo standings.The Dons earned at least a share of the league title with the Chargers by pulling out a thrilling 8-7 victory over their league rivals on Tuesday at the Santa Barbara pool.Betsy Hendrix’s goal off a counterattack with 2:28 remaining in the fourth period turned out to be the game-winner. The goal gave the Dons an 8-6 lead.DP’s Laurel Kistler … [Read more...]

Dons beat Edison for sixth at SoCal Championships

Santa Barbara High's girls water polo team closed out the SoCal Championships in Irvine with a 10-6 loss to Los Alamitos to finish sixth in the tournament on Saturday.The Dons beat Edison 4-2 in a earlier game, setting up the matchup with Los Al.Kelsey O'Brien recored a goal, two assists, four steals and drew two ejections against Edison.  Madeline Trabucco had 10 saves.In the loss to Los Al, Anna Brummett drew four ejections and scored a goal. Charlotte Hendrix posted team highs of … [Read more...]

San Marcos finishes strong at SoCal Championships

San Marcos finished the Irvine Southern California Championships on a positive note, winning its last two matches to finish 21st in the 32-team girls water polo tournament.“The kids really came together after the loss last night (against Anaheim-Canyon 7-6),” San Marcos coach Chuckie Roth said. “That was a wake-up call. They came out today and really put it together.”The Royals started the day with a 9-6 comeback win against Villa Park. They trailed 6-5 going into the final … [Read more...]

Royals explode for 18 goals, split pair at SoCal tourney

The San Marcos girls water polo team split a pair of games at the Irvine Southern California Championships on Friday.The Royals were on fire at the start, rolling to an 18-9 win over Laguna Hills. The 18 goals were a team high this season.In their second game, the Royals got off to a slow start and were edged by Canyon of Anaheim, 7-6.“We had opportunities to win the game. It just didn’t pan out,” said San Marcos coach Chuckie Roth.Hannah Koper and Halie Johnson each scored … [Read more...]