The boys’ water polo team placed third in the Delfina USA Classic tournament, which was hosted by the school Sept. 28-30. The team lost to Newport Harbor High School 11-7 in the semifinals, but defeated Sacred Heart Preparatory 14-9 in the third place match. The team moves to a total record of 13-4 with a league record of 3-0.
Attacker Ramsay Letteau-Stallings ’24 said his favorite part about the tournament is being able to play at the school’s home pool.
“What I personally like about [the Delfina USA Classic] every year is the aspect of every game being a home game,” Letteau-Stallings said. “Having your friends be able to cheer you on in between classes is an incredible experience as they never get to see me play. Also, being able to defend our home pool makes us have a sense of pride for the space that we have and not want to be embarrassed in it.”
Letteau-Stallings said although Newport Harbor’s perimeter shooters benefited them significantly, the Wolverines’ subpar performance was ultimately a result of complacency.
“Obviously, the addition of [Gavin Appeldorn ] and [Connor Ohl] made game planning a lot harder since we weren’t able to run the same deep zones on [Peter Castillo] that we were at [the South Coast Tournament], and when we did we were getting punished for it,” Letteau Stallings said. “The main problem was definitely in our approach and confidence, as we had not started a single game in the tournament well at that point because we were playing lower opponents and we let them get a jump on us in the first that we weren’t able to dig out of.”
Letteau-Stallings said the team looks to redeem themselves at the school’s 2023 Homecoming against JSerra Catholic High School Oct. 7.
“We’re fired up to be playing [JSerra Catholic High School] this Saturday,” Letteau-Stallings said. “We proved that we can hang with [JSerra] earlier in the season and everyone is looking for redemption. Being able to face [JSerra] at home for Homecoming makes it even greater, as we can’t let them come into our pool and beat us without a strong fight.”
