There was no shame for anyone on the Live Oak High boys water
polo team in losing to perennial power Bellarmine in the Central
Coast Section Division I playoffs. Despite being beaten 13-5 at
Independence High on Wednesday, the Acorns took solace in the fact
that they had played hard and completed one of the signature
seasons in the program
’s storied history.
There was no shame for anyone on the Live Oak High boys water polo team in losing to perennial power Bellarmine in the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
Despite being beaten 13-5 at Independence High on Wednesday, the Acorns took solace in the fact that they had played hard and completed one of the signature seasons in the program’s storied history.
“I think we played the game of our lives,” senior Ryan Gautschi said, tears welling in his eyes. “Every one of us gave 110 percent.”
LO coach Mack Haines was equally circumspect, despite the fact that through a quirk of seeding Live Oak was forced to play the Bells a round earlier than it should have. LO was seeded behind Gunn and Salinas, two teams the Acorns beat by more than 10 goals each this season
“I don’t feel bad about losing to Bellarmine – they epitomize a water polo powerhouse,” Haines said. “Would I have liked to have played them in the finals? Yes. Would the result have been different? Probably not.”
For Haines, who guided the team to another undefeated league title and back into the upper echelon of Northern California water polo, the loss couldn’t ruin a successful season.
Live Oak, which got three goals from Gautschi, finished the season 22-10 overall.
