CMAC rocks Rocktober

The Costa Mesa Aquatics Club came away with the gold medal after three days of tough games in the Rocktober Classic, a USA Water Polo 12-and-under water polo tournament held in Mesa, Ariz. this past weekend.

Game one against Rose Bowl ended in an 18-4 victory after outstanding defense by Will Fry and Nathan Duesund and offense by Evan MacElwee. The day ended after a tough loss against SD Shores. The game was scoreless after the first quarter and 2-2 at the half after goals by Brandon Fabrega and Erik Duesund. Shores took advantage of a tiring defense in the third quarter to take the lead, but after a fourth quarter comeback by CMAC the score was 6-5 with one minute to go. But, after a shot in the crossbar by Landon Akerstrom, Shores countered and scored the final 7-5 score.

“I was very happy with our team today, and especially our goalie Madilynn Ambrose whose shot blocking was outstanding,” assistant coach Morgan Turner noted after the game.

Day two started with a 12-3 win against Bruin from Los Angeles, where Kira Anderson showed her skills with several steals and Jude Solis showed intensity and focus. The second game of the day was played against frequent tournament opponent Riverside and ended in a 15-9 win for Costa Mesa, after an outstanding effort by driver Lucas McMahon and Everett Rowden, to set up a championship game against local rivals from Huntington Beach on Sunday.

The game was a see-saw affair with a 5-5 tie after three quarters, but CMAC was stronger and pulled away with a 9-5 victory. Coach Dustin Serrano noted that “the team showed a lot of desire in today’s game, especially in the fourth quarter. I am also very excited for Gavin Fisher who walked away with the tournament Sportsmanship Award.”

Serrano, who also coaches the Costa Mesa High water polo teams with Turner and twin brother Cody, continued: “as a high school coach I am thrilled to see the growth and success of the players this young, and could not be more excited for the potential additions to our high school programs in a few years.”

— Reader submission