Cuesta Men's Water Polo is chasing its 44th straight playoff berth but began this season without a head coach after 2023 Cuesta College Coach of the Year and the reigning State Men's Water Polo Coach of the Year John Marsh retired over the summer.  The Cougars still do not have a permanent coach, but returning Assistant Coach Layne Porter and Athletic Director Bob Mariucci guided the Cougars last weekend at the season-opening Merced Tournament.  The duo helped the Cougars grab the tournament title with four straight victories, while outscoring their opponents by a margin of 94 to 22.  The Cougars opened the season by dispatching the host Blue Devils, 28-8, before adding another win over NorCal powerhouse Diablo Valley, 27-3.  On Saturday, Cuesta's Poloists completed the sweep with wins over Modesto, 22-5, and San Diego Mesa, 17-6.  Every member of the team scored at least one goal on the weekend, except Freshman Goaltender Yvano Voigt, who was busy keeping the nets clean with 29 saves and a sparkling 64.4 save percentage in the nets.  Sophomores Lochan Zwaschka and Jake Burns picked up where they left off last season.  Zwaschka earned all-State honors last season after leading the team with 49 assists and posted a dozen more, plus eight goals, to lead the Cougars last weekend, while Burns added nine goals and 11 more assists.  The Cougars are 4-0 this season.

Men's Water Polo shall take the next two weeks off from competition and is scheduled to be back in action at the Mt San Antonio Tournament on September 15-16.  The tournament schedule has not been released; however, the Cougars already know they are matched up with their 2022 CCCAA State Semi-Final opponent West Valley on Saturday (10:30).  The Vikings beat the Cougars, 14-10, to advance to the title game, while the loss dropped the Cougars into 3rd place game.  Cuesta Men's Water Polo qualified for the playoffs during its inaugural season in 1979 and has reached the post-season every year of its existence.  However, while also collecting a department best 30 conference titles, the program is still chasing its first State Championship.  Last season marked the Cougars 9th trip to the CCCAA State Finals, but. the closest they have come to a title was back-to-back Silvers in 1989 and 1990.