Who needs Gatorade when you’ve got a swimming pool at your
disposal?
Who needs Gatorade when you’ve got a swimming pool at your disposal?
Gilroy varsity girls water polo coach Andy Been and his assistant Joel Ailes saw their team hang on for a 9-8 victory over Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the Tri-County Athletic League Championships Thursday, then they got a chance to check the pool’s temperature when the team threw the two into the water.
The celebration almost didn’t happen though as the Mustangs’ lead shrunk to one goal after leading 9-6 in the final period.
“It was amazing. It was back and forth the whole way,” Been said. “I barely have my voice (from yelling).”
Jenny Ailes led Gilroy with five goals, three coming by way of a nifty five-meter backhand.
“Jenny was a monster again,” Been said.
Chelsea Hill, Lauren Van Herk, Alana Osaki and Meghan Collett all had a goal as well.
One example of how wild the game was came when Gilroy was leading 4-3 with twenty seconds left in the first half. Notre Dame’s Brenna Carrillo-Zazueta pulled back and fired a shot from the middle of the pool to tie the game. The second half was just a continuation of incredible plays.
Been made special note of the play of hole defender Van Herk and goalie Talia Lauber, who made several key stops to preserve the win.
“They got the ball with 45 seconds to go and Talia Lauber made two amazing blocks, two stellar blocks,” he said. “Everyone played great on defense. I’m just sorry that the (Notre Dame) girls had to lose. They beat us by one earlier in the year and I guess it was our one chance to win a one-goal game.”
Gilroy will now face the Santa Catalina Cougars in the TCAL semifinals today at 3:30 p.m.
Undefeated in regular season TCAL games this season, the Cougars will present a daunting challenge for the surging Mustangs. If defeated, Gilroy would then need to win the third place consolation match to make it to the Central Coast Section playoffs. The team currently slotted in that Saturday game is Salinas. San Benito will await the winner of today’s contest in the championship.
Salinas
The Gilroy Mustangs gave new meaning to riding off with a win.
Caitlin Chisolm, Lindsey Foster and Loryn Ferreira all contributed eight kills and the Gilroy Mustangs beat host Alisal Thursday night in four games 25-23, 13-25, 25-20, 25-19.
But while the Mustangs were trying to ride off with a win, their bus driver was simply trying to ride off.
“He told us if you’re not done with your game in five minutes I’ll have to leave without you,” coach Sue Grogan said. “We had a good number of parents there so it wasn’t a huge issue, but it was something I’ve never encountered.”
Gilroy completed the game in time to still have a bus ride home from Salinas, a good thing to have especially after a tough opponent in Alisal.
“Alisal, they’re a strong team in that they very rarely let the ball drop,” Grogan said. “When you think you’ve gotten a good hit out of the deal, they don’t give up easily.
“Where we might have been a stronger team hitting and blocking, they were still able to dig a lot of balls up and save them.”
Chisolm had 15 digs and two blocks, while Ferreira provided six aces and a block as well. Lindsey Meazell contributed 20 assists, two kills and two aces on the night, and Jasmine Perez led the team with 25 digs.
“On defense, the girls were a little scattered here and there, but we just had to get it through,” Grogan said.
Thursday’s win for Gilroy marked the final league game of the season. Grogan will travel to San Jose Saturday at 1 p.m. to see if the Mustangs have compiled enough points for a bid to the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Gilroy finished its season 4-8 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 16-17 overall.
