Men’s water polo team strives for greatness

Sophomores Grant Curry and Mark Morin are looking to lead the team on a deep run into the state championship.

Palomar’s high-powered offense has taken the team to new levels, and they’re hoping it carries them to a deep post season run.

Led by Curry and Morin, Palomar men’s water polo has brought the team to a strong 9-6 record and 3-0 in league play. Four of the Comet’s six losses have been to the top four teams in the state.

The team is very excited with the way the season has gone so far, hoping to keep winning on the legs of a high-powered offense. Curry leads the offense with 51 goals and nine assists followed by Morin’s 28 goals and 19 assists.

Assistant Coach Charles Sommer discussed the team and its performance in the Cerritos Mini-Tourna–ment.

“The team needs to come out and play hard for the entirety of the matches, we lost a few of the games at the end because we tired out, but were going to work on the boys’ stamina to get the best out of them for the coming games.”

Goalkeeper Tony Oreb leads the defense with 94 saves. Oreb took the tournament this last weekend hard, as the Comets walked away with four losses.

“Some games we just do not come in with the right mindset and it costs us,” Oreb said.

The team battled hard in this month’s Cerritos Mini-Torunament, holding its own against the three top teams in the state.

After having flashes of greatness last season, the Comets did not meet the goals they strived for in the playoffs, losing to the Mesa College Olympians after winning one and losing one against them in the regular season.

Team Captain Eli Foli said the team has already looked past the loss to Mesa, demolishing the Olympians this season 24 to 12.

Foli pinpointed the main problems to last weekend’s tough stretch to the season.

“Teams are just starting to double team our best players, the rest of the team is just going to have to step up more and we will be more successful.”

After being red-shirted last year, Morin is excited about how much the team has been winning.

“It’s great when everyone in the pool can be a shooter, and even better when we can all bond as a team. We’re all really similar, and we’re having a lot of fun.”

Looking forward, Coach Sommer really wants the team to focus on the fundamentals of the game.

“Crisp passing, reducing turnovers, overall awareness while in the pool, as well as our communication is going to help us play better.”

He applauded the team for their heart and hard work ethic in practice as well as the games.

“And if the players stay focused and play smart, it can lead to extreme success for the team,” Coach Sommer said.

Sommer mentioned that the team is most excited for the Saddleback Invitational, which will give the team a very good indication as to how far they can go as a group this year.

The Comets are looking to make back-to-back runs at first place in their conference this season as well as a much better turn out in the playoffs.