Men's Water Polo heads into the final week of the regular season with two games on the docket.  The Poloists, ranked #7 in the State, open the week against #4 LA Valley on Wednesday (3 PM).  This shall mark the Cougars' second straight game against the Monarchs, who beat them last Saturday in the final game of the Golden West Tournament, 17-12.  The Cougars and Monarchs have been the most dominant teams in the WSC and have combined to win the circuit's past 13 crowns, including last season when first-year Head Coach Greg Enloe led the Cougars to a fifth straight title with an overtime victory against the Monarchs in Van Nuys.  Cuesta's current team shall also host their Alumni for their annual match-up on Saturday (1 PM).

Men's Water Polo posted a 3-3 record in their final full week of the regular season.  The Cougars played two games each of the last three days of the week and earned a split each day.  On Thursday, they opened with a loss, 13-11, to Biola, but bounced back that afternoon with a Western State Conference win at Citrus, 22-15.  On Friday, the Cougars entered the Golden West Tournament and cruised to a win over Riverside, 17-10, in their tournament debut, before being outscored, 4-1, in the final period and edged by #5 Orange Coast, 13-12, in the nightcap  Cuesta rebounded after the letdown and opened Saturday's play with a convincing win over #4 Long Beach, 13-9, however,  #3 Los Angeles Valley laid in wait.   The Monarchs claimed the tournament finale, 17-12, to set up this week's dramatic match-up for the top seed in the conference tournament.  All-WSC Sophomores Ethan Merritt (pict) and Oliver Finley led the Cougars in scoring over the weekend with 18 and 14 goals, respectively, over their half-dozen games, while Freshman Beau Gendron also reached double-digits with 11 goals. 

Freshmen Beau Gendron and Carsten Lucia are both sons of former Cuesta Water Polo Stars, who's fathers are expected to be back in the tank this Saturday for the Alumni Game.  Gendron's father, Joey Gendron, earned all-WSC Second Team in 1993 and was the Western State Conference (WSC) MVP and All American First Team in 1994, when he led the Cougars to 5th place at the State Tournament.  He later played two seasons at Long Beach State, where he scored more goals as a 49er than as a Cougars, 62 to 46.  In 1984, Lucia's Dad, Bill Lucia was selected as Cuesta College's Athlete of the Year.  In water polo, he earned all-Coast First Team and all-State honors in 1982 and was selected to the all-WSC Second Team in 1983.  He spent 1984 and 1985 at UC Santa Barbara and helped lead the Gauchos to 4th place at the 1985 NCAA Championships.