Ventura Water Polo Team to Seek Revenge in Playoffs

Looking to avenge an upset loss earlier in the season, the Ventura College water polo team will play host to Saddleback today at 3:30 p.m. in the first round of the Southern California regional.

Ventura (23-10-1) is seeded No. 5 and Saddleback (10-22) is 12th in the 16-team regional. The Pirates finished two games behind Cuesta in the five-team Western State Conference standings. Cuesta (26-7) is seeded No. 2 in the regional behind top-seeded Golden West.

The Pirates lost to Saddleback, 9-8, in the Saddleback tournament in mid-October. Ventura Coach Larry Baratte said his team has been waiting for the rematch.

“There should be somewhat of a revenge factor,” Baratte said. “(Pedro) DeLima fouled out early in the third quarter of that game and we played as poorly as we can play against them.”

DeLima, a Brazilian, and goalie Paul Krueger are the Ventura catalysts. DeLima led the state in scoring with 153 goals, and Krueger made 395 saves and finished second in the state behind Jonah Arter of San Diego Mesa, who had 432.

Baratte said he is happy with the Pirates’ draw in the seedings. If they win today, the Pirates will face fourth-seeded Orange Coast (19-4-1) in the quarterfinals Friday at 11 a.m. at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, where the semifinals and the championship match also will be played.

Four-time state defending champion Golden West (26-1), Orange Coast, Cuesta and No. 3 Grossmont (26-8) have byes in the first round. The semifinals are Friday night, after the morning and afternoon quarterfinals. The third-place match is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the title match at 3 p.m.

The state championships, featuring the four surviving teams from the Southern California regional and four from the Northern California tournament, are scheduled for Nov. 19-20 at Modesto College.