Thursday, February 22, 2018

LJ g water polo: Dominant

By Ed Piper

Second-year coach Amy Jennings' Vikings girls water polo team just saw the conclusion of their season, but statistics through Feb. 7 (prior to the recent playoffs) show the dominance of the La Jolla swimmers.

"These are elite high school players," the veteran coach--who also coaches at Miramar College--agreed in a discussion of her girls' numbers.

On offense, junior Jensine Bugelli scored 58 goals to lead the squad, while junior Katy Koenig followed with 43, and senior Leslie Rendon and sophomore Jessica "Jess" Newell with 38 each.

Bugelli also led the team with 47 steals, Newell 40.

Rendon, with Koenig a co-captain, drew 33 ejections (causing a defender to foul and have to sit out for 20 seconds, similar to ice hockey). Bugelli drew 31, Newell 27. Ejections are a key statistic in water polo.

In the cage, sophomore goalies MC (Maricarmen) Rendon, Leslie's younger sister, and Shauna Franke were a potent combination. MC made 159 saves, while Franke recorded 94. A key component of that total is the number of 5/6 saves--shot blocks made when the team is one player down due to an ejection: Rendon had 28, Franke 10.

The goalies' totals are partly explained by the number of quarters each played: MC sitting in goal in 68 quarters, Shauna in 43 quarters.

Franke made saves on 58 percent of shots taken against her. Rendon carried a 57 percent. "These show their efficiency," Jennings commented. These are good percentages.

The Vikings recording the most quarters played in formed the core of the team: Newell at 108, Leslie Rendon 102, and senior Julie Shriver 100. These were the three in triple figures in quarters played. Koenig played in 98 quarters, sophomore Paige Olson back at 86.

Koenig missed playing time early in the season due to injury. Franke was out for a couple of games later in the season, as was Bugelli (77 quarters).

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