The Boys Water Polo team wins the annual Scott Roche Tournament for the first time since 2014.

Photo by Pam Tso McKenney.

By Emilio Simbeck.

The Menlo Knights boys water polo team (5-0) continued their dominance this season, as the team emerged victorious for the first time since 2014 in the annual Scott Roche tournament.

The Knights, who played a in a total of four games during their championship run, began their dominance early in the school day on Friday with a commanding 15-3 drubbing of Oak Ridge at noon. Goals came early and often for the Knights, with freshman Noah Housenbold, senior Scott Little, and sophomore Sam Untrecht all chipping in with pairs of goals. Menlo kept it rolling, defeating St. Marys with a 12-3 win later that evening, allowing them to move onto the semifinals.

The Knights’ tournament got back underway the following morning where they went head-to-head with La Jolla to earn a trip to the championship game. Standout senior goalkeeper Tiago Bonchristiano held it down between the posts, coming up with 17 stops that game. La Jolla had trouble controlling junior Niko Bhatia and sophomore Untrecht, who together amassed ten of Menlo’s eleven goals. Menlo won the game 11-5, and moved on to the championship.

In their final game, Menlo faced San Ramon Valley, who had toppled St. Francis in their semifinal matchup on the other side of the tournament bracket. The Knights key players stepped up once again, with each of the starters tallying goals and goalkeeper Bonchristiano saving 16 shots en route to a 12-8 victory over the Wolves.

“What allowed us to win this tournament was trusting one another,” Bonchristiano said. “Knowing that each of our teammates is doing their best truly enabled us to win this important tournament.” Undefeated in preseason and tournament play, Menlo looks to keep up their success onto the regular season.