Cuesta Secures 2023 WSC Men's Water Polo Championship
Team Stats
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The No. 1-seeded Cuesta College Cougars secured the program's fourth consecutive crown on Saturday afternoon at the 2023 Western State Conference Men's Water Polo Championship at LA Valley College. | RECAP
The Cougars faced No. 2 LA Valley in the title game, which proved to be a back-and-forth battle throughout regulation. The hosting Monarchs jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first quarter but Cuesta battled back to a 7-5 deficit before the halftime break. The Cougars managed to even things up in the final minute of the third frame after a goal from Andoni Petroutsas. The two teams came to an 11-11 tie in the final frame of regulation, but the Cougars avoided overtime with a desperation heave from goaltender Yvano Voigt to Oliver Finley for the buzzer-beater that secured the win.
Cuesta advanced to the finals after a lopsided victory over No. 4-seeded Ventura on Friday afternoon while the Monarchs topped No. 3 Citrus College (13-11) in the semis. Citrus closed the tournament with a third place finish after defeating the Pirates, 15-8, on Saturday morning.
Both Cuesta and LAVC will appear in the SoCal Regional Tournament as the No. 6 and No. 9 seeds, respectively. To view the full regional bracket, click here.
