Comments on: Boys water polo: state tourney pairings released

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:51:23 +0000

Carlsbad lost their best player (Friedrich) but returns just about everybody else. All of Vista’s best players were SR’s so they are rebuilding. Vista split the two league matches with C’bad last year and lost a close game in the D1 CIF finals down there. Nado is similar to C’bad – lost the best player (Parsons) but return just about everybody else. Bishop’s had mostly SR’s last year but they reload.

By: Thanks Dan

Thanks Dan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:46:20 +0000

Outside the OC, Loyola should be tough as they have some great experienced kids returning. I believe that Lynn is with the National Team through the end of the month, so he wouldn’t have any contact with HW until he returns. We will see if Loyola can capture two consecutive league titles.

Dos Pueblos looks to be a team that finished strong with a lots of kids returning. I have no idea about Ventura but they are in Mater Dei’s bracket so that will be a test right out the gate. Putting aside NP, this should be a pretty open year with lots of movement in the polls throughout the season.

By: Poolboy

Poolboy — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:48:56 +0000

Dan,

From the tournament results this summer, it looks like Foothill, VP and Los Al were the hardest hit by graduation. All are young and lacking varsity experience. El Toro will still be in the thick of it with Danner stepping in at goalie but they still seem to be looking for that sixth man to round out the starters.

Newport and Mater Dei seem to be at the top of the Class for Div I & II. JSerra has some strong talent but they have yet to figure out how to find a goalie. That leaves a big hole in the middle and everyone in the OC knows it.

Loyola, Ventura and Dos Pueblos look to be strong in the North and never count out a Mark Walsh coached Santa Barbara team. Loyola and Ventura will all be playing in the Cal HS tournament this weekend along with Harvard-Westlake. It will be interesting to see where H-W goes as Robert L. settles in.

By: Thanks Dan

Thanks Dan — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:56:11 +0000

Thanks for keeping us informed. Observing must be a lacrosse fan.

What teams do you think were most hurt by the departure of last years senior class, which was the strongest in years. Can VP stay in the thick of things without Samuels. Will ET survive the departure of White and their goalie. Los Al’s line-up is totally depleted. Obviously, NP is the favorite but will CDM, Mater Dei, Servite, etc. mount a challenge? How about any LA County teams?

By: DAN ALBANO

DAN ALBANO — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:47:00 +0000

Observing – Like all the kids and coaches in water polo this summer, I too am trying to get better. This tourney gives me a chance to sharpen my knowledge for the upcoming seasons – bolster my coverage on this blog for the readers and watch a game I really enjoy.

I’m hoping my coverage of the tourney is received well. I’m pumped

By: chris

chris — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:46:42 +0000

With all the HS playing at this tourney it looks like the CHAWP tourney will not be very competitive.
Oh and the DP girls should give Newport a run.

By: Observing

Observing — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:42:15 +0000

Dan, don’t you have something better to do this summer than follow high school water polo? Isn’t it a fall & winter sport?

By: DAN ALBANO

DAN ALBANO — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:08:09 +0000

Tesrisa -I will be posting girls brackets tonight with some thoughts, fyi

By: H2O-Time

H2O-Time — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:51:44 +0000

Miramonte lost “all” of their guys to graduation but maybe one. I am not a CDM fan or their style of play, but CDM should handle them.

By: Mattilou

Mattilou — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:09:11 +0000

JSerra should not be a match for Newport, although the Sailors tend to get better as tournaments go along due to their training regimen. If an upset were to occur, it would probably happen early. C-bad may be tough but I believe they lost their best player to graduation. CDM as a one seed over Miramonte? They must have factored in a home-region advantage because that is a serious stretch.