With two close wins over top teams in the Central Coast Section and Sac-Joaquin Section as well as high placements in multiple tournaments, the boys water polo team has had an impressive season so far. The team is ranked first in CCS and 26th nationally.
To cement their 11-4 record, the team beat one of the top teams in the area, Los Gatos High School, thus advancing to the championship game of the Scott Roche Invitational on Sept. 7. The team fell to Redwood High School, the top team in the North Coast Section, in a tight 12-11 game to place second in the invitational.
“We are 10 and four, which is a great record against a lot of the teams. We’ve won a couple of really tight one or two-goal games,” head coach Jack Bowen said. “The win against Los Gatos was great because we came back and tied it, [then] won it overtime.”
The team also placed third in the Coronado Tournament on Sept. 21 with a win over Rio Americano High School, the number one team from the SJS.
According to Bowen, no one player is responsible for the team’s success. The team is statistically well-balanced, with multiple players contributing in various ways. “We have five players with 10 or more goals and then a bunch of players with a lot of assists,” Bowen said. “It’s not like there are one or two players leading all the stats categories, it’s very balanced.” The team also has two goalies, senior Hunter Guyer and junior Connor Burks, who each play half of the game.
The team culture is as strong as their statistics. “The team dynamic is really, really good. It’s really well-knit,” senior Lucas Capasso said. “[The team is] probably one of the main groups of guys in this entire school for me.”
Instead of participating in another tournament, the team will play four one-off non-league home games an hour before Menlo’s football games, to increase attendance and avoid exhaustion.
Above all, Bowen hopes the team can put in its best effort to represent Menlo well. “Are the guys trying, are they being their best?” Bowen said. “The answer is yes.”
