Gauchos nine continue swimming past expectations with playoff victory

It was hard to put any expectations on the El Capitan High girls water polo team this season. The Gauchos only returned three players from last year and have only nine players on the roster. Two of the players are playing water polo for the first time this season.

 

Somehow the Gauchos clawed their way to 22-6 season, finished second in the Central California Conference and now prepare to play a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II quarterfinal playoff game on Thursday at home against Del Oro at 5:30 p.m.

 

The No. 3 seeded Gauchos opened the playoffs with a decisive 17-6 victory over No. 14 Pitman on Tuesday night. El Capitan coach Karin Umemura admits a tiny roster and so many new players usually isn’t a recipe for success.

 

“I am really proud of this group of kids coming together to have the season they have had,” Umemura said.  “They have all stepped up and taken on way bigger roles than they ever have before.  I am not sure anyone would have picked them to be the three seed in the playoffs before the season started.”

 

Junior Sloane Dingeldein led the way with six goals and five steals against the Pride. Senior Peyton Adrian added four goals, three assists and eight steals. Alex Martinez and Raija Sebasstain both chipped in with four goals each.

 

As one of only two seniors, Adrian is counted on to be a leader in the pool for a team with three sophomores and one freshman. Adrian is constantly talking, directing her teammates where to go. 

 

“Peyton is the only one who has been with our program all four years,” Umemura said.  “She has been to three section semifinals and a section final with our program. We lean on her experience in the water, she helps her teammates understand where they need to be on both offense and defense. It is hard for some of the kids with less experience to remember exactly what they need to be doing all the time and she  helps to facilitate that for us from the water.”

 

“We were just the underdogs this year and we still finished second, but that's still amazing considering half the people on our team have never played ever in their life,” Adrian added. “Our goalie (Valoria Martinez) didn’t know how to egg beater last year and now she’s one of our best defenders. Now that we’re in sections, I can’t wait to see how far we go.”

 

The Gauchos hope to continue their season as long as possible and enjoy the surprising journey. “It has been fun,” Umemura said.  “Like I said we didn't go in with crazy expectations. It was kind of just lets see what we got when we started playing games and from that first game they have all stepped up and been successful.  It is always fun to see them improve and grow not just as individuals but as a team.  They are pretty carefree too since there haven't been many expectations so that has been fun too.”

 

Merced 16, Downey 1 – Ten different Bears scored as the No. 2 seed routed the Knights as they began their quest for a third consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section title. Evalyn Drum scored three goals for Merced (25-3). Taylor Lung and Sarah Slocum added two goals and four assists. The Bears will host No. 7 Turlock in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

 

In other playoff games involving MUHSD girls water polo teams, St. Francis defeated Atwater 15-6, St. Mary’s won 21-4 over Buhach Colony and Livingston fell to Ripon 18-1.

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.