Monte Vista

The Lady Dons were ready to cook at this weekend’s Heather Carr West Memorial Invitational Water Polo Tournament in Davis. First up was Monte Vista and the Dons got right to work with a strong first quarter with 4 goals from Ella Del Rosario, Finley Graff, and Sara Williams. Junior goalie Adelyn Horica was on fire and blocked every shot thrown her way. The Dons continued their strong offense throughout the second quarter with four more goals by Ella, and freshman Anika Rehn. The momentum continued the third quarter with an exclusion drawn by sophomore Lily Briones, a steal from freshman Lucy Kerr, and four more goals from Finley and Ella and one from Monte Vista. The fourth quarter started with a steal from freshman Maddie Maurer followed by a goal from sophomore Malin Stone. Freshman Gen Balfour stayed strong in goal to end the game with a 13-3 victory for the Dons. 

Arroyo Grande 

The Arroyo Grande Eagles are a power house, but the Lady Dons were ready for the challenge. Malin Stone started with a strong spring and Lily Briones passed the ball to Ella Del Rosario for goal #1. The Eagles responded with a goal of their own to tie up the game. Acalanes stepped it up and Ella and Lily each sent one to the back of the net. Goalie Adelyn Horciza made a great block but things were getting rough and the ref called a double kickout, one player from each team, to calm the game down. Arroyo Grande got some momentum with another goal but the Acalanes defense prevented any more goals before the quarter ended 3-2 in favor of Acalanes. The second quarter started with Anika Rehn winning the sprint, two great steals from Lily Briones and two goals from Sara Williams…one was a buzzer beater with only 2 second left in the quarter! The Eagles came out strong in Q3 by winning the sprint and scoring a goal to bring the game within one. Ella responded with a quick goal for Aca, followed by another by AG, and one more for Ella to keep the score 7-5 at the end of the quarter. The Dons were feeling confident as the whistle blew to start the fourth quarter, but they knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Malin won the sprint but the Eagles were able to send one into the twine right off the bat. The ball went up and down the field and the game started to get a little heated and another double kickout was called. The Dons got right back into it and Finley sent the ball to Ella for another goal for the Dons. Adelyn continued to make clutch saves one right after another as the Dons battled to keep their lead. Senior Olivia Whipple stepped up to the goal and sent one to the back of the net with authority. In the last 30 second, a penalty shot was called for Arroyo Grande and Adelyn continued her amazing game and blocked it to clinch the win 9-6!

Davis

Saturday morning was spent walking around downtown Davis but at 1pm the Dons were ready to face the Davis Blue Devils. It was a game of defense between Davis and Acalanes as they swam up and down the pool. Ella scored first, but Davis came back to tie it up. Freshman Jayna Guiro scored to regain the lead for the Dons and Sara Williams added one more goal at the end of the quarter. Olivia Whipple started Q2 by scoring off the break and Adelyn continued to make epic saves in goal. Ella scored one more but Davis scored one as well ending the quarter up 5-2. After the halftime talk, the Dons were ready and scored two more goals by Ella and Lily Briones. The Blue Devils weren’t giving up and put two more in the cage before Malin Stone ended the quarter with a sweet Acalanes goal. The Lady Dons were ready to go when the whistle started the 4th quarter. After winning the sprint, there was a lot of back and forth with no scoring thanks to Adelyn who continued to make epic blocks. Finley Graff had a great outside shot to add one more to the scoreboard. The final goal of the game was a group effort from Malin Stone and Ella Del Rosario before the final whistle blew and Acalanes claimed the win 10-4.

Granite Bay

The Dons played the first game of the tournament on Friday and the last game of the tournament on Saturday afternoon at 5pm. The Acalanes parents showed up to cheer on their Dons as they took to the pool against the Granite Bay Grizzlies. Malin won the sprint, sent the ball to Ella who passed it into Finley for goal #1. Adelyn’s blocks started early on and contined through the quarter as Finley and Ella rocketed the ball to the back of the cage three more times each to end the quarter 7-0. Quarter two was a quick one with steals from sophomore Emiko Kuniyoshi and Sara Williams and some nice teamwork from senior Sadie Hendrickson who passed to Emiko for a stellar goal from set. Anika Rehn won the sprint to start Q3 and Lucy Kerr sent the ball to Olivia Whipple who sent the ball in the twine. Acalanes defense stayed strong and the next possession showed our freshman strength with a great pass from Elinor Chen to Lucy who sunk the ball in cage. The final quarter got cooking with Malin Stone getting a great pass from Anika to find the back of the net. Elinor was back in action and earned a penalty shot, which she took with authority! Emiko was back in action with a stealthy steal and another goal, with a great assist from senior Siena La Rotonda. Freshman goalies Gen Balfour did a great job in the goal and the Dons took the 10-1 win to end the tournament. 

This was the first Heather Carr West Memorial Invitational tournament honoring the late UC Davis athlete. The girls had a great weekend of polo and team bonding and enjoyed their time in Davis. Senior Ella Del Rosario was named MVP of the tournament. A big congratulations to Ella!

What’s Up Next for the Dons? 

Come cheer on your Dons this Wednesday, 9/24, when Acalanes hosts the Arch Bishop Mitty Monarchs.

Varsity 4pm

JV 5pm