Cypress, CA (Men’s Water Polo) – The 2006 Citrus College Men’s Water Polo team has seen a season filled with hills and valleys. If their recent performance at this past weekend’s Cypress Tournament is any indication of how they can perform, they may be able to wreak some havoc at this coming weekend WSC Championship Tournament.
The tournament kicked off with a bang for the Fighting Owls as they defeated Riverside in the first game 13-12. Riverside, who has been in and out of the state top ten all season long mounted a comeback in the final three minutes of the game down 12-8. The Fighting Owl’s were able to stave off the comeback however and come out on top for the win. Connor Ruggio had 5 goals, while Gamal Rady chipped in with 3 of his own.
The 2nd game pitted the Owls against fellow WSC member Cuesta College, who is currently in 1st place in the WSC. The Owls fought hard and valiantly but fell short in the end losing 13-12. Douglas Moore and Ruggio both had 5 goals apiece in the loss. As Saturday rolled around the Owls found themselves with yet another formidable foe in Long Beach City College. LBCC has been in the top 5 all year long, and proved to be too much for the Owl’s as Citrus lost 17-8. Ruggio once again led all scorers with 5 goals.
The last match for the Owl’s came against Mt. SAC. Citrus is rather familiar with the Mounties, as this was the 3rd time the two teams have squared off this season. The Owl’s have the Mounties number as they have all season and came out on top 11-9. Ruggio once again was the lead scorer with 5 more goals in the win.
With the two wins and two losses, the Owl’s move to 12-16 on the season. The Owl’s season hangs in the balance with this weekend’s WSC Tournament to determine whether or not the Owl’s can move to the SoCal Championships in two weeks. The Owl’s will be the 4th seed out of 5 teams for the WSC tournament, and will kick the weekend off with a play-in game versus #5 seed Santa Monica at 12:30 pm in Ventura, CA on Friday. The winner of the game will go on to face the #1 seed Cuesta College at 4:00 pm later that day.