The City College water polo team swept at the Ventura Tournament, beating American River College 20-7 and rivals Fullerton College 13-6 Friday at the Ventura Aquatic Center extending their win-streak to 17 consecutive wins.
To start the tournament City College played against American River College. Despite bearing a 3-10 streak, the opposing team put up a fight the first quarter, but City College’s offense quickly gained control.
A key moment took place when sophomore utility Kendra Carr took back the ball from American River attacker Lily Van Rees, scoring with four seconds left in in the third quarter. Carr was on fire throughout the game, scoring seven goals, her career record at City College.
The Vaqueros controlled the rest of game, with the final score 20-7.
Fullerton was a tougher match-up for City College, head coach Chuckie Roth said.
City College won the opening sprint, with Carr sinking in the first point 21 seconds into the first quarter. However, the rest of the first half would not be so easy.
Fullerton’s aggressive defense persisted into the end of the second quarter, stalling at the shot clock, keeping City College scrambling to stay above Fullerton with a one point lead. The Vaqueros finally cracked the Hornets’ defensive code in the middle of the third quarter.
City College sophomore attacker Addison Seale and freshman center Gabrielle Ritter both scored hat tricks in the match-up.
“I had a feeling they were going to run different defenses against us,” Roth said. “I think it just took us a little time to adapt to what they were doing. It was something we hadn’t seen before.”
Although the game was unpredictable at times, freshman center Ivanna Bilaver worked hard to keep the ball away from Fullerton’s defense.
“Their defense is very structured,” said Bilaver. “Every time we had a front offense, their defense would drop down about three people.”
Overall, Roth said playing Fullerton was a great team exercise in remaining composed when the opposing team utilizes drop back defensive plays. Roth cites communication as a major factor in teams victory.
“I think that’s our number one area and we’re great at it, but we still need to be better,” said Roth.
The Vaqueros hope to keep their undefeated streak alive during the second and last day of the Ventura Tournament Saturday, Oct. 8 at the Ventura Aquatic Center.
