SAN MARCOS- The Palomar College Women’s water polo team has a 7-10 record through their first 17 games of the 2024 season.
On Saturday, Oct. 5, the ladies played both Cerritos and San Diego Miramar. They dominated the Cerritos winning the match by a final score of 20-4.
Family and friends watched while the ladies battled in the water. The men’s water polo vocally expressed their support and enthusiasm for the women’s team. The bleachers were filled, it was a sunny day which set the scene.
At the beginning of the Cerritos game, the swim-off involved #13 Kennedy Magnusson. In the first period, Madalyn McKeller shot the third goal. Cerritos then scored their first point.
By the second period, the Comets were up 7-1. #3 Sophia Wicks was on point with the blocks as the goalie. There was an intense moment where #8 Ayano Tsuda glided with the ball, leaving the crowd on their toes. She remained fierce, locked in, and finally scored a point. #15 Tessa Ferragamo also scored a point. The Comets were still up 10-2.
Comet players Ayano Tsuda, Tessa Ferragamo, and #17 Keyanna Mucino connected to score another point. Comets were in the lead 11-2 by halftime.
Once the Comets returned from halftime, #14 Veronica Torres made her first third of the day. Score 12-2. The team dropped like fish into the pool to begin the third period.
Torres then made a quality pass to Madalyn McKellar , which led to a goal. McKellar scored one more point after #12 Emily Freeman gave her a quick pass. Sophia Wicks shined again with another good pass to Veronica Torres, who scored the goal. The score was now 16-3.
By this time, both teams were way more vocal than in the first half. The ladies showed more aggression in the water. Ayano Tsuda would conclude the game by scoring once again. The Comets won the first game of the tournament.
The crowd energy was high. The music timing was on point. The games were clear to watch because of the nice shade from the locker room buildings. The athletes seemed to be adapted to the glare. The water splashing showed the intensity. The pool was 12 feet deep proving the endurance of the Comets.
Once the ball was in play, the athletes would race to the other side. The atmosphere was intense while the ladies remained strong in the water. The ladies showed their stamina by maintaining the tread. They showed communication and strategy for each decision.
Coach Mandy Simon started playing water polo when she was in 8th grade.
“As soon as I jumped in the pool, all of the childhood stresses went away. It was my happy place. I wanted to keep playing. I played throughout high school and college because it was my escape kind of…It’s still my happy place,” said Coach Mandy Simon.
The athletes shared the impact of water polo on their lives:
“When I went to a team sport, it really helped my skills of learning how to be on a team and build relationships with them. It showed me teamwork. How to work with different personalities. At school and work…” said Veronica Torres #14.
Madalyn McKellar described how they prepare for games.
“It really requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and motivation…So it really takes a tough person to play water polo,” said Madalyn McKellar #5.
“I joined because my mom was in water polo at her high school. Then I grew to love the sport,” said Sophia Wicks #3
The ladies explained what they would like to see differently at Palomar for women’s water polo:
McKellar mentioned the importance of getting better flags, “We need new flags. Our flags break like every week, so some new flags at the pool would be nice.”
“It’s super hard to be like, “I’ve got this” when you’ve got the four people on our team out of the water cheering us on. They’re supposed to cheer us on. When it’s a whole stand of people, it’s a very different feeling,” said Sophia Wicks.
“I think just getting more people to come out. Even on the Palomar website, the game schedule is wrong. People try to show up, “Oh, I thought you had a game,” I’m like, I don’t have a game today. Or they show up at the wrong time because the schedule is wrong,” said Wicks.
“I don’t think everybody really understands how much pressure we go under during games. I’d really like to see bigger audiences at our games. Not a lot of people know about water polo or think to support us. I think if we had a bigger crowd, it could make us play better,” said Veronica Torres.
