Marmonte polo teams chasing Agoura

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers POWERFUL BLAST—Westlake High's Caitlyn Christensen puts a shot on goal during a recent practice session at WHS. Seven teams still have a chance to win a Marmonte League title in girls' water polo, but, according to many league coaches, the reality is the race for the top spot will once again come down to just two teams—Agoura and Royal.

Thousand Oaks head coach Mike Giles said the real race will be for the final two playoff spots. The Marmonte automatically sends its top four teams to the postseason.

"Agoura is just head and shoulders above everyone else," Giles said. "I see Royal, Newbury Park and us fighting it out for second place.

"This league is just brutal, and my feeling is that a very good team is going to be left out of the postseason. I just hope it's not us."

Agoura, which won the CIFSouthern Section Division II title in 2007, entered the week with a 2-0 record in league play.

The Chargers' league wins came against Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park. Agoura played at Royal on Wednesday afternoon, but as of press time the score was unavailable. Other Marmonte league teams also resumed play Wednesday.

Through the Chargers' first nine games, Casey Clark scored 27 goals while sophomore Savannah Fletcher added 23. Sophomore Jenna Cutino contributed 12 goals.

Last season's Marmonte Goalkeeper of the Year, Christina Vournas, has led the Charger defense. Others contributing for Agoura include seniors Katie Jordan and Quincy Kayton, along with sophomore Emily Carson and freshman Megan Linder.

"We have set three goals for this season," Agoura head coach Jason Rosenthal said.

"We want to come together as a team, win league and then win CIF. A lot of the girls were disappointed with the way our season ended last year with us falling in the second round. This team wants to go even further."

Although many coaches say Agoura is the favorite, Royal head coach Matt Frazier isn't one of them.

"I've been the coach at Royal for four years, and I believe this is the one year where Agoura is beatable," Frazier said. "We're very senior-heavy this season, and we're a more confident team."

The Highlanders bring back many returnees, including AllMarmonte League first-team members Kacey Creek and Emily Hucal. Frazier has especially been impressed with Hucal, who's in her second year as goalkeeper after previously playing the driver position.

"With a year of experience now, (Hucal) has more confidence," Frazier said. "She could be the top goalie in the league."

Junior Hannah Guthman and seniors Janelle Corugedo and Olivia Barry have also starred for Royal.

Newbury Park is looking to return to the postseason thanks to the return of senior Carly McKee, one of the league's top offensive threats.

"This season McKee is a lot stronger," Newbury Park head coach David Gleisberg said. "She's more in control of her game, and she seems to be able to just take over a game at times."

Other offensive threats for the Panthers are junior Kayleigh Sobieski and senior Jenayl Peters. Junior Olivia Dowd has been solid as the team's goalkeeper.

Thousand Oaks is having a difficult time finding an offensive weapon to replace Whitney Delgado, who graduated after a stellar career with the Lancers.

Earlyseason offensive weapons for T.O. include junior Lauren Barnett, senior Dusty Holmes and Kathryn Irwin. The defense has been anchored by senior goalkeeper Kristine Kilgore.

Also fighting for a playoff spot is Westlake, which missed the postseason a year ago. First-year head coach Farhad Ghaemi has high hopes for his squad.

"We have a lot of potential on this team, we just need to work on playing well for an entire game," Ghaemi said.

"We will play well in the second half, but it's tough to come back after falling behind early 40 or 3-1."

Westlake is led by goalkeeper Roxanne Mula, a three-year starter. Mula had 65 saves through the team's first eight games and is on pace to break the school record for saves in a season set by Sasha Yan, who had 141 last year.

Seniors Caitlyn Christensen, Amanda McNutt, Courtney Thomas, Faryar Ghaemi and Alyse Brehm have also played well.

Moorpark graduated 13 seniors and has a very young team. Head coach Jason Nevis remains happy with his squad's determination.

"We have a lot of young kids that listen and are eager to work hard every day," Nevis said.

"We're trying to build and create something here and hopefully, no matter if we win games or lose games, we'll have a fun season."

Seniors Carol Craig, Caryn Covella, Katee Walters and Arielle Brown, along with sophomores Tina Wu and Ally Larson, have starred for MHS in its nonleague games.

Another team on the upswing is Calabasas.

Last season, head coach Greg Poppen had to come on the school's public address system to invite students to play. A year later, Poppen is pleased with the direction of the program.

"We're really excelling at a rate faster than I thought we would," Poppen said. "We've crossed the line from having players new to the sport to having players that really understand the game."

Since Calabasas is led by many juniors, such as Kris Tatiossian, Sam Kargari, Natalie Brown and Brooke Whitfield, the squad may realistically be a year away from being considered a serious contender for a league championship.