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The Sacred Heart boys water polo team has either won or shared all three Central Coast Section Open Division tournaments and nine straight overall.
The Gators (22-3) are once again poised to capture another section title after winning the West Catholic Athletic League tournament title 15-7 over Bellarmine on Saturday.
SHP will be seeded first in this year’s Open Division at Sunday’s seeding meeting.
The Gators scored the games first three goals and six of the first seven to take control right away.
Luke Weigle and Luke Johnston each scored three goals to lead SHP while Gavin West added two goals and two assists.
Hassen Hove and Jack Vort each added a pair of goals and Griff Price recorded 15 saves in three quarters for SHP. Jake Tsotadze added a goal and two assists.
Menlo School beat Valley Christian 13-12 in the third-place game as Tommy Kiesling scored four goals and recorded three assists.
“This is one of the toughest schedules we’ve ever had,” Menlo coach Jack Bowen said. “We played every one of the Top 10 teams in Northern California and many of the top teams in the state. Our goal is, ‘Be Your Best,’ and we’ve done that so far this season. This is what gets us prepared for the post season and the CCS Tournament and beyond.”
Jack Murad added three goals, Greg Hilderbrand scored twice and Cormac Mulloy recorded 14 saves for the Kinghts (15-11), who will get a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the Open Division.
In the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, Palo Alto completed its successful run through the league tournament, beating Harker 14-12 in Saturday’s title contest.
Girls water polo
Sacred Heart Prep is the defending Open Division champion from 2019 and has won 11 overall CCS titles since 2007.
The Gators (24-2) will once again be favored to defend their title after winning the WCAL tournament with a 7-2 victory over St. Francis on Saturday.
SHP’s two losses have both been to Davis by a combined margin of three points. The Gators have had some difficult games this season, though mostly against other NorCal powerhouses.
Ashley Penner, Megan Newby and Ella Woodhead each scored twice and Natalia Szczerba had three assists to lead SHP past the Lancers.
Menlo School edged St. Ignatius 8-7 in the third-place game as Malia Chavinson and Rusha Bhat each scored twice.
In the SCVAL, Castilleja dropped a 10-5 decision to Los Gatos in the championship match. Casti and Los Gatos shared the regular-season title.
Los Gatos and Castilleja both have a chance to wind up in the CCS Open Division.
Annika Burks scored twice to lead Castilleja (18-9) while Serafina Cortez, Gabby Lewis and Sydney Lowell also scored.
Gunn fell to Harker 7-5 in the third-place game. Jayden Kratt recorded 15 saves, Kenza Ashworth scored three times, Pooja Bucklin blocked three shots and Sawyer McKenna added a pair of assists for the Titans.
By Rick Eymer
By Rick Eymer
By Rick Eymer
