Cuesta Women's Water Polo earned its third straight trip to the post-season under Coach Rachel Gruetzmacher after earning 3rd place in the Western State Conference. The trip marked the Cougars 6th straight post-season berth, not counting the canceled Covid year, when they were 2nd in the State out of three teams, or the suspended 2021 campaign. On the year, the Poloists posted their first winning season since 2019 with a 20-13 overall record and reached the second round of the CCCAA Regional Playoffs, where they lost to the eventual 3rd Place Riverside Tigers. The team was well represented on the all-Western State Conference teams with all seven Cuesta starters earning honors, led by a trio of All Americans- Maddie Corrigan (Hollister- Pict), Annika Pauschek (Santa Margarita: Atascadero HS) and Hannah Kempf (Visalia).
All American Maddie Corrigan enjoyed a tremendous sophomore campaign as she jumped from all-Conference Honorable Mention as a freshman to both the all-Conference and all-State First Teams. Corrigan quietly did it all for the Cougars this season. On offense she led Cuesta with both 60 goals and 41 assists, while adding 31 steals and a team-leading nine shot blocks on defense. Her 41 assists this season marked the 8th best total in Cuesta History.
All American Annika Pauschek immediately stepped into a prominent role for the Cougars as their primary Center. Pauschek scored 49 goals and was one of four Cougars that just missed the 50-goal mark. Her specialty was setting up the Cougars' power-play and she led the team with 43 exclusions drawn. Her proficiency in setting up the Cuesta's extra-man offense earned her a tie with fellow all-Americans Elysia Sauve (2004) and Gabi Fabri (2018) for the 10th spot all-time. She also added 23 assists to the Cougars' attack and collected 58 steals on defense.
Goaltender Aubrie Kirkby Tatro moved up from the all-WSC Second Team in 2023 to the loop's first squad this season. The Cougars went 17-11 with Kirkby Tatro in the nets this season but had to go without her during the post-season. Her 252 saves landed her in the 6th spot on the Cuesta's all-time list, while she also sits 4th all time with 459 career saves. Her 17 wins this season were the most for a Cougar Keeper since Assistant Coach Tina Bell recorded 18 in 2019, while her 30 career wins places her 4th all-time at Cuesta.
There seems have been a glitch in the all-State voting after the regional tournament, because against the by-laws, two-time all-WSC Second Team selection Hannah Kempf was voted onto the all-Region team. Kempf, who has made a name for herself as one of the State's best defenders, made her way onto the board and soared from all-Conference second team into the regional voting where she pushed to the top of the all-Southern California Regional Second Team. (explanation below)* Kempf was certainly worthy of her accolades as she demonstrated her all-around talent in every facet of the game. She scored 32 goals on the season, while also dishing out 30 assists on offense, however her real impact was on defense, where she earned a reputation as one of the State's toughest defenders. She led the Cougars with 71 steals (12th in the State), while always tasked with marking the opponent's top scorer. Freshman Amelia Braun (La Mesa) joined Kempf on the all-WSC Second Team after putting together a solid rookie season. She proved to be a superb talent and was among the team's leaders with 49 goals, 29 assists, 43 steals and 28 fouls drawn.
Freshmen Ryder Gangemi (Hollister HS) and Adelyne Merritt (Porterville HS) were both accorded Western State Conference Honorable Mention for their all-around play. Gangemi scored 48 goals on the season, just one tally behind three of her teammates that tied with 49 goals. A physical presence in the water, Gangemi was second on the team with 40 fouls drawn, but also led the Cougars with 27 fouls assessed. Merritt enjoyed a great rookie season for the women, while her brother Ethan Merritt played on Cuesta men's team. She, like her elder sibling, also earned all-WSC Honorable Mention as a freshman, but this year her brother earned All American honors as the WSC Men's Water Polo Player of the Year. In her first season, the younger Merritt's 49 goals were only seven behind her big brother's 56 tallies, however she did dish out more assists (36 to 13), swipe more steals (67 to 19) than her celebrated sibling.
All American
First Team Maddie Corrigan
First Team Annika Pauschek
Second Team Hannah Kempf
2024 All State
First Team Maddie Corrigan
First Team Annika Pauschek
Second Team Hannah Kempf
2024 All-WSC Honors
First Team Maddie Corrigan
First Team Annika Pauschek
First Team Aubrie Kirkby Tatro
Second Team Hannah Kempf
Second Team Amelia Braun
Honorable Mention Adelyne Merritt
Honorable Mention Ryder Gangemi
*In water polo, thirty all-Americans are selected statewide, but only 10 come from the North Region, while the larger South gets 20. Both regions also have two 15-player all-Region teams, so half of those players earn All American honors. All fifteen members of the South's All-Region First Team, the first 10 members of the North's all Region First Team, and the five highest vote getters of the South's 15-person all-region second team are accorded All-America honors. 16 of the 20 All American spots are allotted by regional playoff finish, however the coaches vote players into the few at-large All American spots and those at-large positions are reserved for players on their respective all-conference first teams.
