Merced to host eight teams vying for 3C2A Women's Water Polo Championship this week
MERCED - Teams from Southern California, Long Beach City, in particular, have dominated the CCCWPCA Top Ten every week of 2025. As teams head to Merced College for the 3C2A Women's Water Polo State Championships, fans may be wondering if anyone from the north can even get a win against a talent-laden south that includes the defending champion Vikings and 2022/2023 winners Santa Barbara City, along with powers Orange Coast and Riverside City. Since West Valley took home the championship trophy in 2021, only the second state crown for a NorCal school (Sierra 2018), SoCal teams have not-so-quietly reasserted their state-wide dominance with three in a row. It would surprise no one to see another LBCC vs. SBCC final.
Let's take a look at the teams looking to bring home the banner at Merced:
South No. 1 Long Beach City: 7-2, South Coast Conference champions
State championships: four, last one in 2024
The Vikings haven't lost a game to a 3C2A opponent since Sept. 7, 2024, a streak of 73 straight. Their only losses in 2025 were squeakers to Biola and CSUN. They got a challenge from Santa Barbara in the SoCal finals last week, prevailing 4-2 in the rain. As in 2024, the Vikings come into this year's tournament with a reputation for physical play and brick-wall defense. They've outscored opponents 661-202 so far and feature seven players with at least 30 goals: Mar Bernal (65), Irene Pueyo Caballero (54), Amy Fritz (50), Emily Cribari (46), Alexis Velazquez (39), Miranda Ferguson (36) and Shahar Rokach (35). All but Bernal and Cribari are first-year players. Oh, they also have ten players with 20-or-more steals. Five LBCC keepers have seen action so far, but the quintet is led by Olivia Birdsall, who is 18-1 and has stopped 61.8% of opponent shots.
South No. 2 Santa Barbara City: 30-6, Western State Conference champions
State championships: three, went back-to-back in 2022/23
Like LBCC, the Vaqueros are loaded with stellar freshmen. Don't let their youth deceive you, SBCC is lethal on both ends of the pool, outscoring opponents 502-311. They have five players – all freshmen - with 50-or-more goals and nine with at least 20 steals. Leading the stat sheet is Avery Jensen with 84 goals, 31 assists and 36 steals. She's joined by May Guidoux (69 G, 28 A, 67 ST), Sophie McGehee (56 G, 73 A, 29 ST), Luciana Grooms (53 G, 20 A, 32 ST) and Katie Strohl (51 G, 96 A, 56 ST). Keeper Ava Barclay, also a freshman, is 27-6 with a 59.5 save %.
South No. 3 Orange Coast: 26-9, Orange Empire Conference champions
State championships: one, in 2001
The Pirates are another two-headed SoCal monster, with six players boasting 30-or-more goals and seven with at least 20 steals. Sophomore Finley Munchoff is one of the state's top two-way players, leading OCC with a team-high 65 goals and 59 steals, along with 39 assists. Hayden Clark also has 65 goals, while Emma Willis has 56 goals, 29 steals, and a team-leading 73 helpers. First-year players Ariah Martinez (45), Brooke Kaltenbach (41) and Layla Vargas (31) also broke the 30-goal benchmark. Netminder Savannah Pena has stopped a state-best 308 shots (55.4%) on her way to a 23-8 record.
South No. 4 Riverside City: 22-11, 2nd place Orange Empire Conference
State championships: five, last in 2016
The perennially-powerful Tigers have arguably 3C2A's top two-way player in 2024 All-Tourney stalwart Yosra Elseifi. Elseifi tore up the 2024 tournament and, with Angelina Beall, forms the only 100-plus goal-scoring tandem in the state. Elseifi found the back of the cage a state-best 118 times and recorded a 3C2A-leading 239 steals. Beall has 115 goals so far, along with 29 steals. The Tigers feature seven players with at least 30 steals, so they are hardly one-dimensional. Keeper Alyssa Cortez comes into the tournament with a 17-10 mark.
North No. 1 Sierra: 18-6, Big 8 Conference Champions
State championships: one, in 2018
The Wolverines earned the north No. 1 seed with a spirited 14-12 win over arch-rival American River in a rainy and steamy NorCal final battle. Conference MVP Makenna Perez is the 3rd 100-plus goal scorer in this year's tourney, along with RCC's Elseifi and Beall. Perez has 107 goals, 45 assists and 46 steals entering the tourney. She's joined on a potent offense by Raegan Chavez (42 G, 59 A, 48 ST), Jane Lubiens (41 G, 43 A, 19 ST), Liz Rhodes (36 G, 25 ST) and Allie Nihart (24 G, 32 A, 28 ST). Goalkeeper Savannah Campos has played all but two quarters in 2025 and is 18-6 with a 52.6 save %.
North No. 2 American River: 17-9, 2nd in Big 8 Conference
State championships: looking for their first championship
ARC dispatched West Valley 16-8 in their NorCal opener and held off Big 8 rival San Joaquin Delta 10-9 in the semis. The Beavers are a physical bunch and boast four players with at least 30 goals: Heidi Sherman (57 G, 15 A, 27 ST), Ella Hanson (43 G, 25 A, 39 ST), Sasha Samoylovich (35 G) and Amber Inderkum (35 G, 20 A, 15 ST). Keeper Brooke Boyer was solid at the Big 8 championships and NorCals and brings a 16-9 record with a 48.7 save % to Merced.
North No. 3 San Joaquin Delta: 18-17, 3rd place in Big 8 Conference
State championships: looking for their first title
The Mustangs, regular state tournament participants, had one of the toughest regular-season schedules in 2025. Delta prepared for the state tourney with 15 games against SoCal squads in Southern California. Laine Woodard is one of the state's top two-way stars, coming into the state tournament with a team-high 40 goals and 22 steals. Woodard is backed by Emily Engle (32 G) and Gianna Ramos (22 G). Kylie Richardson is one of the state's top netminders, stopping 54.9% of opponent shots so far in 2025.
North No. 4 Diablo Valley: 13-10, 4th place in the Big 8 Conference
State championships: seeking championship #1
The fourth Big 8 squad in the tourney, the Vikings are making their first 3C2A championship appearance since 2015. They are scrappy and don't back down, as evidenced by their 10-8 win over Coast Conference champion Merced in their NorCal opener. They feature one of the state's premier players in Evalinne Vecchio, who is a tough, gifted and extremely physical two-way terror. Vecchio paces the DVC stat sheet with 67 goals, 18 assists and 41 steals. Other top Vikings include Brianna Smyth (51 G, 21 A, 33 ST), Regan Braga (36 G, 21 A, 14 ST), Chloe Pappas (79 ST) and Lauryn Caguyong (30 A). Freshman Maya Canada guards the net and is 10-9 with 43.5 save %.
(Matt Folsom, CCCWPCA)