Menlo girls, boys teams win water polo titles Menlo girls, boys teams win water polo titles (November 23, 2005)

By Keith Peters

Sports Editor, Palo Alto Weekly

It really shouldn't have come as a surprise that the Menlo School boys and girls registered identical 6-4 victories to claim Central Coast Section water polo championships on Saturday.

These, after all, are two programs with a lot in common.

The Menlo boys have a veteran coach in Jack Bowen, who in six seasons has guided the Knights to three CCS titles.

The Menlo girls also have a veteran coach in Kyle Utsumi, who in nine seasons has guided the Knights to three CCS titles.

The Menlo boys were led by a senior-dominated squad in 2005 while the girls were led by a young, but very experienced group that won the 2004 section title.

The Menlo boys went into the CCS tournament seeded No. 1 in Division II while the girls were seeded No. 2. Both teams had excellent underclassmen goalies -- Mike Merlone and Elise Ponce -- who have trained under Bowen, a former All-American goalie at Stanford.

On Saturday at Independence High in San Jose, everything came together as expected for both teams. The Menlo boys beat No. 3 Sacred Heart Prep, 6-4, with the Menlo girls following with their 6-4 triumph over Menlo-Atherton.
Boys

The Menlo boys finished with a school-record 32-3 mark while the girls finished 28-4. It was the first time since girls began playing in the CCS that two teams from the same school captured titles in the same season.

Menlo senior Deitrich Graumann provided the game-winning goal late in the fourth quarter to break a 4-4 tie. Fellow senior Kyle Hudson followed with a backhand goal for insurance. Merlone came up with a crucial save just before Graumann's goal, and junior Ben Hohl scored three goals.

The Sacred Heart Gators (25-10) kept it competitive and interesting to the end.
Girls

Utsumi said he couldn't be prouder of the Menlo girls' team after its 6-4 victory over fifth-seeded Menlo-Atherton (26-9), which helped open the door to the Knights' title by eliminating top-seeded Sacred Heart Prep in the semifinals.

What worked for M-A first-year coach Chris Rubin against SHP, didn't against Menlo. The Bears didn't get the same kind of perimeter offense they did against the Gators as Menlo pressured the wings and clamped down on M-A seniors Kelly Eaton and Heidi Kucera. Eaton finished with two goals and Kucera muscled in a third, but neither were factors with the game on the line as Menlo's defense took over.

Utsumi watched M-A's startling 6-5 semifinal win over Sacred Heart Prep (30-2) and adjusted his game plan.

The teams were evenly matched throughout with four ties. The last came when Kucera, with Menlo players hanging all over her, fired home a shot for a 4-all deadlock early in the fourth quarter. Menlo junior Camy Sullivan, who finished with three goals, then provided what proved to be the winning goal on a lob shot that just eluded M-A junior goalie Jessie Welton.

Sullivan then assisted on a goal by sophomore Cayley Bowles for a 6-4 lead and it was all over except for the celebrating.

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