Preview: Men’s Water Polo Poised for Strong CCCAA Southern Regional Showing

Another year, another California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern Regional appearance for the Riverside City College men's water polo team.

Despite finishing five games below .500 (10-15), the Tigers earn their 15^th-consecutive bid to the Southern regional tournament after placing fourth in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championships.

"It feels good," said Head Coach Jason Northcott. "Our goal is always make postseason. We are aiming for the top crown every year, but always a process. It's great to make SoCals and be a team that is consistently in the mix."

Riverside will enter the tournament at the eighth seed and face off against the ninth-seeded LA Valley Monarchs on Thursday, November 11 at 10 am. hosted by Southwestern College. Admission to the tournament is $12 for a daily pass and $8 for students, faculty, staff, children 12 and under and seniors 60 and over per CCCAA by laws. Tickets can be purchased online through the CCCAA Box Office and Hometown Ticketing.

The Tigers faced LA Valley earlier in the season and won 12-10. It was a close game deapire Riverside never forfeiting the lead. A big first half saw the Tigers score six goals, but a five-goal effort in the fourth quarter from LA valley made it interesting.

"The only difference is the cap color," said Northcott. "For the last 13-14 years, they  [LA Valley} has been a perennial SoCal contender.The put together a difficult schedule and are very well coached."

The Tigers are not shy on the offensive end that features a high flying offense with a quick trigger. In the beginning of the season, Riverside surrendered a heavy amount of goals with opposing teams scoring 15 or more points through the majority of September. But late-October play has been strong for Riverside.

"I have been extremely proud of the improvement. We have players from all over the globe that haven't played together. We have all freshman with two players that ever played together before. Our improvement on the defensive end has exceeded expectations."

Riverside is the state's ninth ranked team in the most recent Kap7 rankings, proving that record does not reflect the power behind this squad. The Tigers are one of four ranked OEC competitors that include No. 1 Golden West, No. 3 Saddleback and No. 6 Orange Coast.

The Tigers have had nine games against top-ranked teams which has prepared them for a tough regional tournament.

"We like where we are at and we are going to be prepared for whatever team we are playing. Focus on one game at a time and make it to the next day."

Leading the charge is freshman attacker Louis Grandi.

The French phenome has put together a more than impressive season as he ranks 11^th in the state with 87 goals, 24^th in the state with 35 assists and has scored a goal in every game he has played. Furthermore, he has scored three or more goals in 15 games highlighted by a nine-goal outburst in a conference opening victory against Fullerton. His defensive totals are impressive as he is ranked 13^th in the state in steals with 51.

Sophomore Reese Starkey is a vacuum cleaner in the pool as he has recorded 77 total steals which ranks second in the state. He has recorded at least one steal in 20 games highlighted by four six steal games. Offensively, he has scored 54 goals ranks second on the team highlighted by an eight goal affair in a win over University of La Verne.

Holding it down in the middle of the pool is freshman center Sebastian De la Pena-Kenley who has netted 52 goals, ranking second on the squad. Freshman Reljia Mitic follows with 43 goals, while freshman Tommy Dempsey has fired home 42 goals. Dempsey has dished out 29 assists, while Mitic has pocketed 41 steals.

The goalkeeping duties have been handled by freshman Pavle Ristic (6-8) who has reeled in 140 saves. Freshman Seth Zarn has won four games and totaled 79 saves.

"To accomplish winning a championship, there not only one player. There needs to be a full team contribution. Sure, we have had some standout guys regarding stats, but we work all year to find the best individual performances and learn how we can combine them together for one weekend."

In order to do that, Northcott credits his coaching staff, specifically assistant coach Nate Hass.

"One of my mentors, Dave Almquist, told me that the key to being successful is to not hire assistant coaches, but hire head coaches as your assistants. That's what we have in Nate Hass. He has been a top-three pillar in all of Inland Empire water polo. We have worked together for so long, we are one brain. We are always on the same page I have taken that for granted. I am going to miss him when he is gone."