If last season
’s surprise ride back to the top of the league standings and
into the second round of the section playoffs was compelling
evidence of the Live Oak High boys water polo team’s resurgence,
then this season should be the clincher.
If last season’s surprise ride back to the top of the league standings and into the second round of the section playoffs was compelling evidence of the Live Oak High boys water polo team’s resurgence, then this season should be the clincher.
After rebounding from a down year to post a perfect 10-0 record in league (21-9 overall) and upset favored Gunn in the Central Coast Section playoff opener last season, Acorn head coach Mack Haines said he’s convinced this year’s squad is capable of even more impressive feats.
“This is a much-improved team from a year ago,” Haines said. “They had a really good summer and they worked really hard. Throughout the lineup, we have the strongest swimming ability we’ve had in years. We have good team speed. Our ultimate goal is to make the CCS championships. But if we could break into the top five or six in CCS, that would be great. We’d like to be able to play with the best of the best and based on what I’ve seen this summer, I think we can.”
And, what’s the reason for all this enthusiastic optimism coming from a veteran of 26 high school water polo campaigns, including 19 at Live Oak?
That’s because the Acorns are returning the bulk of their starting lineup, and they’re all a year older and a year better.
League MVP Ryan Gautschi, the high-scoring left-hander, is back for his senior season and leads an impressive cadre of returners, which includes senior Corey Robinson, and juniors Justin Short and Shea Coleman (all of whom were starters last year). Other returning players include senior Dennis Lowe, junior Bryson Bailey and sophomore Kyle Fast.
Haines said this year’s squad doesn’t have a dominant two-meter or driver, but will make use of its depth of talent by going with a rotation that includes Gautschi, Robinson and Fast at two-meter, and Gautschi and Short at driver. Lowe will play the outside shooter position, as will Robinson occasionally, while Bailey will play defender and Coleman will be in goal.
Meanwhile, the Acorns lost only David Dunn, a standout swimmer but just a first-year water polo player, Devin Merchant and Mark Ahlin from last season’s squad that overachieved its way into the CCS quarterfinals.
“Last year’s team met expectations and then some, but they had some glaring weaknesses,” Haines said. “That was a great group and they did well. What will be interesting to see is, this year’s team is much better on paper but that’s no guarantee they’ll do better than last year. They could actually do better but have a worse record.”
Haines said that’s because this year’s squad will be more likely to win a match or two in the winner’s bracket of several highly competitive tournaments featuring some of the top teams in California, whereas last year’s team would usually lose its first-round match, then clean up in the loser’s bracket.
But after most of this year’s Live Oak boys team spent the summer playing for the Morgan Hill Water Polo club and practicing against former Acorn greats such as NCAA All-American Kevin Paulsen, Haines said the players are all poised for top-notch competition this season.
In fact, many of the underclassmen played on the 16-and-under team that beat teams from all over the western United States to win a prestigious tournament in Maui.
And, that experience will come in handy against the elite private school teams such as Bellarmine, St. Francis, Menlo and Sacred Heart Prep.
Live Oak will get an immediate test at the John Schmidt Tournament Sept. 10-11, which features the top 32 teams in Northern California – including all the highly regarded private schools. The Acorns host Monterey in their season-opener at 3:30pm on Sept. 9.
