The boys’ varsity water polo team upset 3-time defending CIF Southern Section D1 champion Mater Dei to win the California State High School Championship Tournament on July 21.
Sponsored by USA Water Polo, the three day tournament housed 48 teams in Orange County, making it a top summer tournament for the Wolverines.
Backed by an 11 save game for goalie Anthony Ridgley ’15, the team won off of three goals from Johnny Hooper ’15, two each by Warren Snyder ’14 and Ben Hallock ’16, and one each by Raphael Raede ’15 and Duncan Froomer ’16.
“It felt good to win a big tournament for the first time in a while for Harvard Westlake, and its always good to get a win against a big rival going into season, just to give us some more confidence but for our team we did what we were supposed to,” Ridgley said. “We went into the tournament expecting to win, or at least get to the finals and got the job done. The one that really matters is Cif finals, and that’s what we will working towards this year.”
The team played six games, which included an 18-2 over Mira Costa and a 12-11 semi-final win over San Diego’s Cathedral Catholic.
The team will play five preseason games and enter one more tournament before kicking off league play against Crespi on Oct. 9. They are expected to rematch Mater Dei in a non-league game on Oct. 15. Head coach Brian Flacks ’05 hopes the team’s play will translate over to the upcoming season.
“It’s nice to see that we’re playing at a high level, especially so early in the summer, but November is when we want to play our best,” Flacks said.
