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Marmonte League looks tough
After winning the CIFSouthern Section Division II title last season, the Agoura High girls' water polo team will now try to repeat. The Chargers' path to the top spot, however, is perilous. AHS was one of three teams from the Marmonte League ranked in the CIF-SS Division II preseason coaches' poll. The Chargers were ranked sixth, Thousand Oaks High was ninth and Royal High was 10th. "There is more parity this year than in years past," Agoura head coach Jason Rosenthal said. "We graduated many players from last season, while other schools are bringing back a majority of their players. "It's going to take consistency to win the Marmonte League. Any team is good enough to get lucky and win on any given day, but it's the team that constantly does it that's going to end up on top."
"To tell you the truth, they should be ranked higher than No. 6," Giles said. "I saw them play this week, and they still look real tough. Rosenthal does a phenomenal job coaching those girls, and it's going to be no cake-walk overtaking that team. We got our work cut out for us." Agoura lost Carly Clark, Jillian Waldron and goalkeeper Sara Gralitzer to graduation, but will return key players such as junior Casey Clark, as well as seniors Terri Hopkins and Casey Flacks. Replacing Gralitzer in the cage will be junior Christina Vournas. According to Rosenthal, Vournas has no experience playing goalie in water polo but played the position for many years as a soccer player. Two freshmen, Savannah Fletcher and Jenna Cutino, will make an impact for the Chargers as well. "I've been impressed with the quick growth of this team," Rosenthal said. "The team is young, and they're going to make young mistakes, but that will change over time. We're going to be a different team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning of the year, that's for sure." One of Agoura's main foes will be Thousand Oaks, who also lost many seniors from last season. Fortunately for the Lancers, one of their returnees is senior Whitney Delgado. "Whitney does it all," Giles said. "She is very intelligent, and even though she's quiet, I'm impressed with her leadership qualities." Other returnees for TOHS include junior goalkeeper Kristine Kilgore, last season's starter. Senior Kaitlyn Potter should also be a force on offense. Royal High will be a contender because of returnees such as junior Kacey Creek. Creek made the All-Marmonte League firstteam last season as a defender, but is also Royal's top scoring threat. Creek will get help from senior Bre Johnson, who plays the 2-meter position. According to Royal head coach Matt Frazier, Johnson "does everything well." Royal lost goalkeeper Brittany McKenney to graduation and has replaced her with junior Emily Hucal, who was a driver for the Highlanders last season. "So far Emily is doing a pretty good job of playing goalie, but she needs experience," Frazier said. "She's still a ways from being where she needs to be, and more games will help her." Frazier said he likes his defense, but the team's offense needs to improve. The third-year coach is hoping sophomore Hannah Guthman, or seniors Shannon Robertson and Kelsey Finn, can become options on the offensive attack. While Agoura, Royal and Thousand Oaks are the favorites, the rest of the league is led by first-year coaches. Replacing Pat Midgley as the coach of Westlake High is Brian Alexander. Alexander had previously been an assistant coach at Foothill High. Early on, Alexander's squad has received stellar play from senior Kathryn Nary. In the Warriors' six games, Nary has scored 13 goals. Senior Amanda McNutt has been a factor on offense as well by scoring seven goals, while senior Kate Sullivan should be an offensive force for WHS as the season progresses. "This is a tough league, and we're just going to have to take it game to game," Alexander said. "I'm not worried as much about the other teams in the league as I am about us. We're working on our own game, and if we can get that right we should be okay." Taking over the helm at Newbury Park High is Dave Gleisberg. Gleisberg replaces Casey Graham, who now coaches only the boys' team at NPHS. The Panthers feature Carlee McKee, who Giles called "one of the best players in the league." Moorpark High will be coached by Jason Nevis, who takes over for Thomas King. The Musketeers have many seniors, including Caitlin Johnson and Kacie Markado. Carol Craig and Caryn Covella will contribute as well. "Caitlin is a good shooter and is very smart and aggressive in the pool," Nevis said. "Markado is also very strong, and she plays defense very well." Nevis said that as the season goes on, he's learning more and more. Like Nevis did when he coached the boys, the first-year coach has brought a notepad to tournaments to scout other teams. "I wrote some things down during the Newbury Park Mistletoe Classic, and some stuff I wrote down worked out really well," Nevis said. "I do all the research I can do to help this team win. Whether it's going on websites or just watching games, I'm always looking for something that will help gain us an advantage." Calabasas High's chance of winning the league title is very slim, but the fact that the Coyotes have a team at all this year is a reason to celebrate. According to new head coach Gregory Poppen, who was previously an assistant at Thousand Oaks and Agoura, the team only returns two players, Rachel Wallen and Tanya Don, from the entire program last season.
"We're not rebuilding the program, we're basically creating it," Poppen said. "Earlier in the year, I went on the loudspeaker and announced that we were having tryouts. Basically, if you could sign your name on a sheet of paper, you were on the team." Ones to watch Keep an eye on these players this water polo season: |
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