Men's Water Polo Reaps Awards After Another Playoff Run

Posted: Dec 04, 2024

Cuesta's Poloists finished the 2024 campaign with the program's 32nd conference title and 45th consecutive playoff berth; they have never missed a post-season. The Cougars completed the season with back-to-back games against recent conference rival Los Angeles Valley. They beat the Monarchs on the final day of the regular season to claim the 2024 Western State Conference (WSC) title, but the next week, at the CCCAA Regional Playoffs, the Monarchs knocked the Cougars out of the post-season. All the Cougars' success in the tank earned them plenty of post-season accolades. Nine Cuesta players earned all-WSC honors, including WSC Player of the Year Ethan Merritt (Porterville-pict), while Coach Greg Enloe earned WSC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

2024 Western State Conference Player of the Year Ethan Merritt returned from his Redshirt season to lead the Cougars to another conference title and a return trip to the playoffs. In 2022, Merritt earned all-WSC Honorable Mention as a freshman but took a break from water polo to focus on swimming. THis past Spring, he collected five All American Awards and 2024 WSC Swimmer of the Year honors, while joining Harriers Sergio Reyes, Christina Reyes and Miranda Daschian as the only the Cuesta athletes to earn conference athlete of the year honors in two sports. This season, Merritt scored a team-high 56 goals and was one of six Cuesta players to compile at least 50 tallies. He was also second on the team with 34 exclusions drawn, while contributing 13 assists and 19 steals.

Sophomore Oliver Finley (Cape Town, RSA) jumped from the 2023 all-State Second Team to All American honors this season. The South African was one of the Cougars' most complete players and contributed to the team by excelling in every facet of the game. He was just two tallies off the team lead with 54 goals, while also dishing out a team-best 44 assists. He was also among the team's leaders with 26 steals, 28 exclusions drawn and 10 blocked shots. In October, he joined teammates Austin Majus (Westlake Village) and Andonis Petroutsas (Nikaia, GRE) as they all became members of the Cougars' Century Club with over 100 career goals. Finley ends his time in SLO ranked 19th all time with 123 career goals and 5th all time with 94 career assists.

Freshman Driver Johnny Starr scored in only 10 of the Cougars' first 19 games but then scored in 13 of their last 14 as he lived up to his name and 'starred' for the Cougars. In addition to his 55 goals, 26 assists and 30 fouls drawn on offense, Starr's defense was critical to his Cuesta squad. He led the team with 37 steals and was third on the team with eight shot blocks.

Returning All American Goaltender Yvano Voigt (Marseille, FRA) repeated on the Western State Conference First Team. Voigt started the season late and did not play his first game until September 20; against eventual CCCAA State Champion Golden West. Voigt posted a 14-13 record on the season, while collecting 236 saves and finishing second on the team with 35 steals. He also helped on offense by igniting Cuesta's fastbreak with 15 assists. Yoigt even snuck out into the field and scored three goals on the season. He ends his career in third place on the Cougars' career save list with 605 blocks.

Returning all-WSC First Teamer Austin Majus was joined on the 2024 All-WSC Second Team by fellow veteran Poloist Matthew Wheeler (Visalia). Majus enjoyed an outstanding sophomore campaign. He finished second on the team with 55 goals, dished out 26 assists and swiped 21 steals. He was one of three Cougars to score their 100th career goal during the season and finished his time at Cuesta ranked 7th all time with 94 career assists. Wheeler joined Merritt as they both Redshirted for water polo last season, but in the spring, he opted to walk the "plank" and garnered all-WSC honors of both boards in Diving. In his fulltime return to the tank, Wheeler doubled his 2022 scoring output with 24 goals and was second on the team with 42 assists. He also ranked among the team's leaders with 25 steals and 26 exclusions drawn.

Returning all-WSC selections Andonis Petroutsas and Conner Rocha (Paso Robles HS) joined Freshman Beau Gendron (Visalia) as all-WSC Honorable Mention selections. Petroutsas was a force in the center of the Cougars' offense and a mismatch issue for opponents. He scored 51 goals on the season and drew a team-high 43 exclusions. He joined teammates Oliver Finley and Austin Majus as members of the Cougars' "Century Club" as they all acheived their 100th collegiate goal during the season. Rocha, who repeated as an all-WSC Honorable Mention choice, scored 26 goals and finished third on the team with 30 assists, while also leading the defense with 13 field blocks. Gendron, the son of 1994 Western State Conference Player of the Year Joey Gendron, eclipsed his father's two-year Cuesta scoring total in his first season, 50-to-46. Gendron was Cuesta's "instant offense" off the bench and hit the 50-goal marker without ever being in the tank for the opening sprint.

Coach Greg Enloe, after guiding Cuesta Men's Water Polo to another conference title and playoff berth, was recognized as the 2024 Western State Conference Coach of the Year for the second straight season. He joins former Cuesta Women's Basketball Coach Ed Musolff (1981 & 1982) and his predecessor on the pool deck John Marsh, who was selected in each of his first three campaigns (2004, 2005, 2006), as the only Cuesta coaches to open their career with multiple WSC Coach of the Year Awards.

All American Ethan Merritt

All American Oliver Finley

2024 All State

First Team Ethan Merritt

First Team Oliver Finley

Second Team Johnny Starr

2024 All-Western State Conference Honors

Coach of the Year G reg Enloe

Player of the Year Ethan Merritt

First Team Oliver Finley

First Team Johnny Starr

First Team Yvano Voigt