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By Lindsay Berg
By Lindsay Berg
Fall sports are over for RCC athletes, and that means the end of a record season for the women’s water polo team.
A season which included a record breaking 24 straight wins, No.1 for two weeks, 10 All-Conference players, and four All-Americans.
The Tigers had a strong season, with only a few speed bumps along the way. Their first loss didn’t come until the Long Beach tournament, when the Tigers were down by two goals and lost the championship game to Long Beach City, which was then the second top team in the state.
Up until then, the Tigers had managed to rack up 24 straight wins, a new record for the college. The previous record was 20 consecutive wins.
Until the tournament, the Tigers were the only undefeated team in the state this season. After Long Beach suffered a loss in the Cuesta tournament, Riverside moved to No. 1 in the state. The spotlight lasted until the Tigers suffered their second loss of the season to Orange Coast.
Winning the third place game in the Orange Empire Conference regionals gave the Tigers a chance in the state finals to advance to the championship round. But a loss to Golden West in the semifinal round eliminated them from the competition.
Just before the competition, Loren Myers, the third leading scorer and on the team was stricken with mono and could not play in the championship, which left the Tigers short one of their best players.
“It was disappointing, but we had a real strong season,” head coach Dave Almquist said. “Golden West played really well.”
The Tigers finished the season with 28 wins and 5 losses overall.
Despite the loss, the Tigers had a good season. A total of 10 players received All-Conference titles and four received All-Americans.
Jennifer Laumea and Corrie Stuursma received honorable mentions, while Katie Inglett, Christin Boebinger and Cydney Owen were named to the All-Conference second team. Stacey Rahn, Loren Myers, Stephanie Glendenning and Lauren Williams were named to the All-Conference first team. Dayna Van Gorder received the title of conference co-MVP.
Four players also received All-American titles. Rahn, Myers, Glendenning and Van Gorder all received nationwide honors. Lauren Williams was also named to the All-State tournament team.
One word to describe the season?
“Exciting,” Almquist said. “We had a real strong defensive team. They were very unselfish, which showed on defense. They had real good team chemistry.”
“We were really strong this year,” Almquist said. “I’m excited for next year.”
