It has not been an easy year for Cuesta Men's Water Polo, but the Cougars have endured their trials to win their 4th straight Western State Conference title and clinch the program's 44th consecutive playoff berth. The Cougars began the season with the retirement of Coach John Marsh, then lost the team's assist leader to an injury the first weekend, before losing their returning all-State Goaltender and another starter to a four-year program. The Cougars, thanks to the team's sophomore leadership, kept pushing through and were rewarded when Coach Greg Enloe was hired a month into the season. The Poloists won their first three games with their new coach and maintained their position as one of the State's elite programs. The team entered last week's 2023 Western State Conference Tournament as the #1-seed and cruised back to the title game after beating #3-seed Ventura, 24-4, in Friday's semi-final. In the title game, Cuesta faced host and rival Los Angeles Valley in a battle between the only two programs to claim a WSC crown since Ventura won in 2009. The host Monarchs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening quarter, but the Cougars were able to cut that lead to only two goals by halftime, 7-5. Freshman Andoni Petroutsas finally tied the game with less than a minute left in the 3rd quarter, 8-8, and the Cougars kept rolling with two more goals over the next two minutes to take the lead, 11-9. The host Monarchs, with their home fans rallying the team, never backed down and tied the Cougars at 11-all. The game appeared to be set for overtime, until Cuesta Goaltender Yvano Voigt's desperation long bomb found Driver Oliver Finley (pict-#9) at the other end of the pool in time for a buzzer beater (Video Link) to win the title in regulation, 12-11. The victory marked the 1,000th victory in program history, its 44th straight playoff berth and 31st conference title. The Cougars are 19-11 on the season.
Cuesta 44th trip to the CCCAA Regional Playoffs will begin in the familiar confines of WSC rival Citrus College, who accepted hosting duties for the Western State Conference, after Cuesta demurred due to its coaching situation. Cuesta's Poloists are the 6th-seed and open with 3rd-seed Orange Coast on Friday (12:45 PM). The Cougars and Pirates met earlier this season, before Coach Enloe joined the program, at the Mt San Antonio Tournament on September 15. The Bucs and Cougars played even, except for Orange Coast's five unanswered goals in the last five minutes before halftime, which also provided the difference in the contest's eventual outcome, 16-11. The Cougars only CCCAA setbacks under Enloe came against the other of the Top 4 seeds- #1 Golden West (9-6), #2 Saddleback (19-11) and #4 Mt San Antonio (12-11).
2023 CCCAA PLayoff Seedings
- Golden West- Orange Empire
- Saddleback- Orange Empire
- Orange Coast- Orange Empire
- Mt San Antonio- South Coast
- Cerritos- South Coast
- CUESTA- WESTERN STATE
- Long Beach- South Coast
- Palomar- Pacific Coast
- LA Valley- Western State
- Cypress- Orange Empire
