Men’s and women’s water polo compete at sections and beyond

PHOTO: Men’s varsity coach Tracy Stapleton talks to his players during a timeout.

By Declan Fee,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

The Davis High water polo teams split results at the Sac-Joaquin Section Championships, with the men losing narrowly in double overtime and the women coming away with a large victory. The games, both on Nov. 15, brought loads of supporters from all sides, as the men played Jesuit and the women faced off against Granite Bay High.

The men competed first with both teams trading goals early, but Jesuit finished the first quarter up 2-1. 

Goals from Davis senior Jackson Harris and junior JT Doughty along with goalie junior Ryan Barr’s strong second quarter put Davis up 3-2 to end the first half.

The teams then traded goals once again to finish the third quarter tied. 

Near the end of the fourth quarter Harris put Davis up 5-4 with 4:15 left in the game. Strong defense kept the Blue Devils ahead until the final minute when Jesuit netted two quick goals.

Eager to stay in the game, Davis earned the ball back and was awarded a penalty shot with six seconds left. Brennan Fuchslin put the ball past the goalie to take the game to overtime.

After both overtime periods, the score remained tied with both teams getting a goal and the game then moved to a golden goal double overtime.

Jesuit scored first in sudden death, winning the section by a narrow margin.

The team is disappointed by the final result but recognizes the hard work that went into an overall great season.

“It was a great season, (it was) fun winning so much, but a super tough way to end,” Barr said. “Three hours a day, for 13 weeks. Every day in the pool, it’s a lot of commitment.”

The team went on to win the Division 2 NorCal Championship over San Ramon Valley High 11-10 on Nov. 19.

The women’s team saw a different result as two minutes into the game, junior Lucie Lapuz, junior Leila Meraz, and senior Malaya Wright put away goals. Davis’ goalie, senior Hailey Pistochini, came up with some big stops and the first quarter ended with Davis up 4-1.

Many Devils contributed on the offensive end including senior Kenzie Walker and junior Kyla Cutler who both scored goals in the first half that put Davis up 7-3. 

Granite Bay was able to take momentum back at the start of the third quarter to make the score 9-6. However, the Devils opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter to win 13-7.

After the final whistle, the players lined up to receive medals, hats and congratulations from parents and fans.

The players were elated after the win. 

“It feels great… now we’re on to regionals so that’s kinda a landmark in our season,” Lapuz said. “This season we’ve worked on a ton of power plays and have observed every team we’ve played. Hours of film, every single day, that’s really how we got it down this year.”

The women’s team went on to the Division 1 Norcal Championship tournament where they lost in the quarter-finals to Acalanes High 9-6.