Photos courtesy of GWC Athletics
By Adam Stites
Sun managing editor
With a 20-10 victory over Riverside in the conference final, the Golden West men’s water polo team yet again earned a conference title.
The victory extends the Rustlers streak to 23 consecutive conference championships.
With an overwhelming amount of offense, the Rustlers were able to score 20 goals against a Riverside team that was defeated by GWC 19-13 on Oct. 19 in regular season play.
The Rustlers were led by Venezuela native, Luca De Vivo, who tallied six goals and another four goals from Kevin Oliveira from Miami, Florida. There was an additional two goals each from Marko Madaras, Ricardo Guimaraes and Spencer Van Horne.
Golden West goalie Taylor Lapin led the way for the team defensively, recording nine saves and holding a potent Riverside offense to just 10 goals after RCC scored a combined 32 goals in its first two games of the Orange Empire Conference tournament.
The victory also earned Golden West the number one seed in the Southern California Regional Championships and a first round bye in the tournament.
It will take two victories to earn a spot in the state championship tournament and a third victory to take the Southern California title for what would be 15 consecutive years.
The Southern California Regional Championships will be hosted by the Orange Empire Conference and held at Riverside College. Golden West’s first game will be in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 11 at 10:15 a.m.
