LJ b water polo: 5th place in Menlo Scott Roche Tournament

The Viking water polo team warms up at the
Menlo School swim complex in the Bay Area.
(Photo by Tom Atwell)
 

By Ed Piper

The two Cole's--lead scorer Cole Atwell and goalie Cole Raulston--led La Jolla to a surging 16-9 win over Clovis North for fifth place in the prestigious Scott Roche Water Polo Tournament Fri.-Sat., Sept. 7-8 in Menlo Park.

Atwell scored a whopping 28 goals as the Vikings (now 4-1) won three of its four games in the annual tourney, which for Coach Tom Atwell's team also included college campus visits to Santa Clara and Cal. Meanwhile, Raulston, another senior star destined for a major college program, held tough in goal, recording key saves against La Jolla's four opponents.

"Our boys' fitness level kicked in and they totally outplayed Clovis North for the last quarter," said Atwell from the Bay Area Saturday night, as his athletes got to choose their own dinner spots on Telegraph Road in Berkeley after the nearby campus visit with LJHS alumna Nikki Collins.

Gabe Sanders added four goals, with Rhys Bugelli scoring three on the weekend. Pablo Rayon stood out in dishing out 14 assists to set up his teammates on offense.

In their tournament opener Friday afternoon, the Vikings, after flying up the day before and having a chance to rest overnight, jumped out to an early lead against St. Ignatius of San Francisco, then held on for an 8-6 win.

In the quarterfinals that evening, the Vikings met a tough team from Valley Christian. In last year's tournament, La Jolla took VC to overtime before losing. As in the first game, Atwell's crew took an early lead. The game was a seesaw battle. Finally, Valley Christian won it, 9-7.

"The boys played hard and never gave up. I was very proud of all of them," said Coach Atwell of the tough loss.

On day two of the tournament, La Jolla defeated Davis in the morning. Rayon was occupied taking the ACT test nearby, which had been arranged in advance. But then the 5'8" senior attacker returned to the lineup for Saturday afternoon's fifth-place game against Clovis North.

The Vikings quickly fell behind, 4-0, with three minutes elapsed. "He (Pablo) and all the boys seemed a little out of synch to start the game," commented the coach.

With the score tied, 9-9, to open the fourth quarter, La Jolla's conditioning then paid off.

"Cole (Atwell) really pulled us out of a hole in the last game at the end of the third quarter and the first half of the fourth quarter to put the game away," said Atwell senior.