Water Polo fans enjoyed a wild weekend of action at the Heaston Aquatic Center for the 10th Annual Acalanes Invitational Tournament. On day one, the host team did not disappoint. Playing in front of the student body & energized by the Acalanes marching band, the Dons rolled through their first two games, controlling the action against both College Park and Menlo H.S. Dominating wins of 14-1 and 13-5 respectively, placing the team in the Semi Final round.
On Day two of action, the Dons played their first true test of the season, beating Davis H.S in the Semi Finals 9-7. The Dons led from the opening sprint and never relinquished their two goal lead throughout, winning a very competitive game against a strong opponent. Led by the dynamic duo of Freshman Ella Del Rosario (3 goals, 2 assists, 2 steals) and Jr. Brooklyn Plomp (2 goals, 3 assists, 2 steals) the Dons punched their ticket to the Championship Final where they faced cross town rival, Campolindo Cougars.
The grand finale was a hard fought battle royal of two of the best teams in Northern California. Both teams traded early goals and the momentum alternated, with defenses clamping down. The Dons played without their starting goalie (Sr. Audrey Cox) for the entire tournament. Wendy Heffelfinger played goalie and showed signs of brilliance, filling in admirably throughout the tournament and especially in the Championship game with 9 huge saves in the low scoring affair. Campo snuck in a couple of sneaky skip shots with 2 minutes left to seal the victory in a hard fought 6-5 win. The Dons took 2nd place in the tournament and have marked their calendars for an October 5th home rematch.
