Cuesta Men's Water Polo picked up two wins on the opening day of the Cuesta II Tournament and advanced to face both #3 Saddleback and American River in today's title round.  The Cougars opened against the 3rd-ranked Bobcats (ne' Gauchos), but after trading goals during the first quarter, they fell behind, 10-4, at the intermission.  Cuesta played even the rest of the way, but was unable to bridge the gap, despite a team-high four goals from Center Dante Ianora, as they took the loss, 18-11.  The Cougars were able to salvage the tournament's Silver Medal by beating American River, 12-6, in their tournament finale.  Sophomore Jake Burns scored a career-high five goals to beat the Beavers, while leading the Cougars with seven goals on the day.  In the nets, Cuesta Goaltender Yvano Voigt corralled 20 saves on the day and climbed over the 200-save marker for the season. The Cuesta Poloists' 3-1 mark in the tournament moved their overall record to 14-9 on the season.  

The Cougars return to their Western State Conference schedule on Wednesday (3 PM) at Los Angeles Valley.  The Cougars have won the past three WSC Crowns, but the Monarchs won the previous five.  Since 2010, the Monarchs and Cougars are the only programs to win a WSC title, including seven from Cuesta. After their conference match-up, the 8th-ranked Cougars travel to Garden Grove in Orange County for the Golden West Tournament on Friday and Saturday.  The Cougars open the event on Friday against their hosts, the top-ranked, defending State Champion Rustlers, while also facing fellow bracket-mate #10 Sierra.  The Wolverines last met the Cougars for the Third-Place game the 2023 CCCAA State Championships, where they claimed the Bronze Medal over Cuesta.  After enjoying their opening day bracket, which boasts three of the final four teams from the 2022 CCCAA State Championships, the Cougars will also play two games against the rest of the field on Saturday.