Ventura College sophomore Samantha Ebberson and Ventura College coach Mary Giles
earned the top honors when the All-WSC North women's water polo team was announced earlier this month.

Ebberson, a 5-foot-8 sophomore driver from Pacifica High, was voted co-Player of the
Year for the second straight season after piling up 37 goals, 19 assists and 47 steals.
Giles, who guided the Pirates to their unprecedented fourth straight WSC title, was named WSC Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season and sixth overall since 2001.

The All-WSC first team also included freshman Olivia Barry, who had a team-high 65 steals and 18 field blocks; freshman Jenna Cutino, who had a team-high 36 assists, freshman Anais Geysmonion, who had a team-high 67 goals; freshman Susan Galbawy and sophomore goalie Andrea Mallul, who made 259 saves

The second team included Ventura sophomore Vanessa Magallanes, sophomore Raylene Morales and freshman Emily Pinsky.

Ventura freshman Jessica Ball and sophomore Jenny Paulsen were among the honorable mention.

Three Ventura College student-athletes were named to the first team when the All-Western State Conference honors were announced earlier this month.

Freshman driver Zach Graper, who led the WSC with 102 goals, was a first-team selection, along with sophomore defender Darin Weltsch, who had 38 goals, 36 assists and 26 steals, and sophomore goalie Cody Womack, who made 174 saves.

The second team included freshman center Antonio Barros, sophomore driver Jacob Smith and sophomore driver Cole Swaffar.

Freshman driver Cole Baratte, whose season was cut short by injury, was included among the honorable mention.

Cuesta's John Marsh and Eric Marsh earned Coach and Player of the Year honors, respectively.

Western State Conference
Through Tuesday, Nov. 1

Men's soccer
WSC Conf Ovr
School W-L-T W-L-T Pts
Oxnard 9-0-2 13-1-4 29
Santa Barbara 9-1-1 12-1-3 28
Canyons 4-4-3 6-4-7 15
Hancock 4-4-3 7-8-3 15
L.A. Mission 2-4-5 5-7-6 11
Glendale 3-7-1 4-12-2 11
Moorpark 2-7-2 3-12-2 8
Citrus 1-7-3 3-10-5 8

Women's soccer
WSC North Ovr
School W-L-T W-L-T Pts
Santa Barbara 9-1-0 14-2-0 27
Ventura 8-1-0 14-3-0 24
Moorpark 5-4-1 6-6-5 16
Hancock 5-4-0 9-7-1 15
Oxnard 3-5-1 5-8-4 7
Cuesta 1-7-0 5-11-1 3
West L.A. 0-9-0 0-16-0 0

Women's volleyball
WSC North Ovr
School W-L GF GA W-L
Moorpark 7-0 21 0 15-3
Santa Barbara 6-1 18 4 9-9
Cuesta 5-2 16 8 9-6
L.A. Mission 3-3 10 12 5-7
Ventura 2-5 7 16 2-16
Oxnard 1-6 4 20 2-10
Hancock 0-7 5 21 2-16

Men's water polo
WSC Conf Ovr
School W-L-T W-L-T GF GA Pts
Cuesta 4-0-0 21-10-0 376 293 12
L.A. Valley 3-1-0 15-10-0 308 244 9
Ventura 2-2-0 12-11-0 231 263 6
Citrus 1-3-0 14-10-0 287 301 3
Santa Monica 0-4-0 4-14-0 155 263 0

Women's water polo
WSC Conf Ovr
School W-L-T W-L-T GF GA Pts
Cuesta 4-0-0 18-11-1 265 213 12
Ventura 3-1-0 15-10-0 241 173 9
L.A. Valley 2-2-0 12-8-0 225 157 6
Citrus 1-3-0 2-22-0 169 319 0
Santa Monica 0-4-0 3-17-0 155 276 0

The Ventura College men's water polo team is picking up steam behind freshman Zach Graper.

The Royal High product earned Student-Athlete of the Week honors for both Ventura College and the Western State Conference by scoring 29 times as the Pirates swept four matches at the Cuesta tournament over the weekend in San Luis Obispo.

"He's found himself in the situation where he's had the green light for much of the year, a lot out of necessity, and he's found a way to score," said Ventura coach Mark Schmidt. "He's taken advantage of the opportunity."

Graper has 70 goals in 16 games for Ventura (8-8), which has won eight of its past 12 games.

Graper piled up 11 goals in the 15-12 opening win over Sierra.

"We don't have the traditional primary center forward," said Schmidt. "We rely on post ups and matchups to get goals.

"He's real skilled at drawing fouls and earning 5-meter shots... He's got a real good shot, which developed quite a bit over the summer."

Graper added nine in the 16-14 win over Cabrillo, three in the 18-8 win over Ohlone and six in the 17-4 win over Santa Rosa.

"I've never seen a (four-game) stretch like that for sure," said Schmidt.

Community College
Western State Conference

Men's soccer
WSC Conf Ovr
School W-L-T W-L-T GF GA Pts
Oxnard 5-0-1 8-1-3 31 16 16
Santa Barbara 5-1-0 8-1-3 27 11 15
Hancock 3-2-1 6-6-1 30 29 10
Canyons 3-2-1 5-2-5 21 13 10
L.A. Mission 1-3-2 4-6-3 20 22 5
Citrus 1-4-1 3-7-3 20 26 4
Glendale 1-4-1 2-9-2 16 40 4
Moorpark 1-4-1 2-9-1 10-34 4

Women's soccer
WSC North Ovr
School W-L-T W-L-T GF GA Pts
Ventura 5-0-0 10-2-0 48 13 15
Santa Barbara 4-1 9-2-0 35 8 12
Hancock 3-2-0 6-5-1 13 23 3
Oxnard 2-2-1 4-5-4 20 18 7
Moorpark 2-3-1 3-5-5 10 16 1
Cuesta 1-4-0 5-7-1 4 34 0
West L.A. 0-5-0 0-12-0 0 37 0

Women's volleyball
WSC North Ovr
School W-L GF GA W-L
Moorpark 4-0 12 0 12-3
Santa Barbara 4-0 12 1 7-8
Cuesta 2-1 7 4 6-5
L.A. Mission 1-2 3 7 3-6
Ventura 1-3 4 10 1-14
Hancock 0-3 2 9 2-12
Oxnard 0-3 0 9 1-7

Men's water polo
WSC Conf Ovr
School W-L-T W-L-T GF GA Pts
Cuesta 2-0-0 15-8-0 276 203 6
L.A. Valley 2-1-0 12-6-0 232 158 6
Ventura 2-1-0 10-8-0 203 221 6
Citrus 0-2-0 11-7-0 217 226 0
Santa Monica 0-2-0 1-11-0 94 183

Women's water polo
WSC Conf Ovr
School W-L-T W-L-T GF GA Pts
Ventura 3-0-0 12-6-0 187 117 9
Cuesta 2-0-0 14-8-0 214 156 6
L.A. Valley 1-2-0 11-7-0 123 117 0
Citrus 0-2-0 1-18-0 122 251 0
Santa Monica 0-2-0 2-12 109 195 0

Vanessa Maggallanes and Samathana Ebberson scored two goals apiece and Raylene Morales had four steals as the No. 9-seeded Ventura College women's water polo team defeated No. 8 Grossmont 7-5 Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Southern California regional playoffs in San Luis Obispo.

Morales opened the scoring and anchored the Pirates' defensive effort, helping to build a 4-0 halftime lead along the way to the program's first postseason win since 2007.

The win also avenged one of the Pirates losses. Grossmont beat Ventura, 9-4, on Sept. 11. The three-time defending Western State Conference champion has won six straight games and hasn't lost in regulation since Oct. 9.

"It's great for us," said Ventura coach Mary Giles. "Our girls are excited."

Ventura (19-8) advances to play top-seeded Riverside in today's quarterfinals at Cuesta College.

"We just play," said Giles. "We go all out and have nothing to lose.

The Ventura College men's water polo team (4-9, 2-1) will be looking to come from behind in the WSC race after a 11-5 loss at Cuesta Wednesday, despite four goals from Spencer McGrath.

"We played them tight for almost three quarters," said Ventura coach Mark Schmidt. "They're just better than us right now."

But that doesn't mean the Pirates don't think they can turn the tables by next week's WSC championships.

"I've seen both sides of that," said Schmidt, whose team beat Cuesta three times last season before falling to the Cougars in the postseason.

Locked in a tie game midway through the third quarter Wednesday, the Ventura College women's water polo team used its defense to stay unbeaten in WSC play.

The Pirates (11-6, 3-0) shut out host Cuesta in the fourth quarter of a 8-5 win

"I'm a big believer in that, if you focus on defense, offensive comes naturally," said Ventura coach Mary Giles.

Sophomore Courtney Thomas scored in every period and drivers Samantha Ebberson, Lindsay Wolny and Eliana Guzman led the way defensively.

"Eliana's a lefty, so it's naturally easy for her to use her left to steal from a righty," said Giles. "It makes it easy."

Goalie Andrea Mallul also saved two four-meter penalty shots.

The win sets up a matchup of WSC unbeatens Wednesday afternoon in Ventura, when Citrus (12-11, 3-0) visits the Ventura Aquatics Center.

The winner will be the top seed in the WSC Championship Nov. 5-6 in San Luis Obispo.

The Ventura College women's water polo team will hold its annual VC tournament today and Saturday at Ventura Aquatic Center.

The nine-team tournament features No. 5 Fullerton and two visitors from Northern California, San Joaquin Delta and Merced.

The Pirates improved to 2-0 in Western State Conference play Wednesday with a 12-4 win over visiting Los Angeles Valley behind three goals by Courtney Thomas and two each by Lindsay Wolny, Loretta Zeller and Vanessa Magallanes.

On the cusp of history, the Ventura College women's water polo team is turning the page this fall.

No women's water polo team has won three straight Western State Conference titles, but the two-time defending champion Pirates will attempt the feat with a team consisting almost entirely of first-year local talent.

"It's a very interesting group," said coach Mary Giles.

Without a returning starter, Ventura (7-4) is leaning on 17 freshmen.

Driver Courtney Thomas, a Westlake High graduate, is the lone sophomore in the starting lineup.

While experience may not be a strength, Giles will be relying on a roster that is both deep and long.

"A lot of time, I have some tiny little girls," said Giles. "This team has some really good size and a lot of subs."

In front of freshman goalie Andrea Mallul (Rio Mesa), Ventura has two quality hole set defenders in 6-foot Melenia Ashley (Buena) and 5-9 Raylene Morales (Pacifica).

Former Rio Mesa High goalie Lindsay Wolny, a transfer from UC Santa Barbara, has also contributed defensively after making the transition to the field.

"They are long," said Giles. "I talk to them all the time about how much I love their long arms, because they'll swoop in and steal a ball."

A pair of former Pacifica High stars, Samantha Ebberson and Vanessa Magallanes, lead the attack. The duo combined for seven goals as the Pirates opened WSC play with a 16-5 win at Santa Monica Wednesday.

Ventura expects to be pushed in WSC play by a veteran Citrus team. The race will depend on how quickly the young talent matures.

"Without having a lot of sophomores to lead, it makes it very difficult," said Giles. "But we should be right in there."

Also the two-time defending WSC champion, the Ventura College men's water polo team may not be feeling like it either, as injuries have kept the Pirates (1-6) from a strong start.

"We've just had a perfect storm of things hitting us," said coach Mark Schmidt.

Neither Spencer McGrath (eye), the reigning WSC Player of the Year, nor sophomore defender Nathan Nix (perforated eardrum) were available for Ventura's WSC-opening 17-3 win over Santa Monica Wednesday.

Sophomore Michael Craft has also been limited by a hip injury.

Paperwork issues have kept another key player, Steven Tennant, a transfer from Chaffey, from seeing the pool, although he is expected to be cleared soon.

"We're trying to get things in order," said Schmidt. "A lot of our freshmen are getting opportunities to step up, so it could be a good thing for down the road."

Freshman Eric Donahoo, who has scored 15 goals in the first seven games, is one of the new players who has shone.

"He's having to shoulder a lot of the offensive load," said Schmidt, "which may not be the case when we have other people there."

A pair of All-America swimmers, Collin Baratte and Daniel Colvin, have also shown promise in their first year of playing the sport.

"He's got good skills, he's obviously real fast and he's got good feel for the game," Schmidt said of Baratte.

Colvin, who won the state championship in the 50-yard freestyle last spring, is from a high school (Quartz Hill) that didn't offer water polo.

"He's progressing really nicely," said Schmidt. "He's learning the game real quickly and doing some nice things."

Cuesta knocks No. 3-ranked Ventura College men's water polo from Southern California regional playoffs with a 12-11 overtime win.

Ventura had beaten Cuesta in the teams four previous meetings this year, but were without three key players.

It led 4-2 after one and 7-5 after three.

The Ventura College women's water polo team, seeded No. 10, fell 7-6 to No. 7 Long Beach City in the first round of the Southern California regional playoffs today at Pasadena City College.

Emily Allen scored two goals and Carly Clark, Olivia Hernandez, Rachel Davis, Courtney Thomas added goals for the Pirates (18-5).

Sarah Agopian's second goal gave Long Beach a 7-5 lead with 1:06 to play as the Vikings never trailed.

Ventura goalie Marissa Herold made seven blocks.

Long Beach moves on to face No. 2 Cerritos (29-1) in Friday's quarterfinals.

The Ventura College men's water polo team will open the Southern California regional playoffs Friday against a familiar foe.

The No. 3-seeded Pirates (19-4) will face conference rival Cuesta for the fifth time this season in the regional quarterfinals at Pasadena City College.

"We went over the game plan today," said Ventura coach Mark Schmidt Wednesday. "At least we don't need to replan. We pretty much know what we're supposed to do."

Postseason play is supposed to be about unfamiliar teams sizing up each other. But Schmidt isn't too bothered about facing a conference rival in the postseason considering Ventura is 3-1 against the Cougars this season, including a 13-6 win in Saturday's Western State Conference title game.

"They don't have anything in the seeding process to account for conferences," said Schmidt.

Ventura will be without drivers Michael Crowley and Michael Craft, who were ejected from Saturday's WSC title game. Crowley leads the team in steals (28) and ranks second in goals (56) and assists (23).

"He's a key player," said Schmidt of Crowley . "The game against Cuesta, on paper, he only gave us one goal and one assist, but he makes the guys around him better.

"He's always a threat. But we've been missing guys at different points throughout the season. We have a bunch of guys who score."

Ventura may also be without driver Hayden Adler, who has been stricken by the flu this week. Schmidt said that all Ventura players were told to get tested for swine flu.

The Ventura College men's water polo team (19-4) is the No. 3 seed in the Southern California regional playoffs.

The Western State Conference champion Pirates, who lead the state in winning percentage, was unusually pitted against conference rival Cuesta, the No. 6 seed, in Friday's Southern California quarterfinals at Pasadena City College.

Ventura won three of the four meetings between the teams this year, winning 15-6 in the Citrus tournament, 12-8 in conference play and 13-6 in the WSC title game Saturday after falling 13-7 in Cuesta's tournament in September.

Both teams will be missing players that were ejected during Saturday's conference final.

The winner faces No. 2 Long Beach, No. 7 Orange Coast or No. 10 Saddleback in Saturday's SoCal semifinals at PCC.

Click the jump for the rest of the quarterfinal matchups.

The Ventura College women's water polo team (18-4) is the No. 10 seed in the Southern California regional playoffs.

The Western State Conference champion, Pirates will face No. 7 Long Beach City (22-6) Thursday afternoon in a regional first-round match at Pasadena City College.

Ventura did not face Long Beach this season, but did go 4-0 in its tournament in October.

The winner faces No. 2 Cerritos in the quarterfinals Friday at PCC.

Click the jump for the rest of the quarterfinal matchups.

Western State Conference standings through Monday, Nov. 9:

WSC VOLLEYBALL
NORTH WSC PCT. GF GA SEASON PCT.
Moorpark 7-0 1.000 21 2 17-1 .944
S Barbra 6-1 .857 19 4 17-2 .895
Ventura 3-4 .429 11 15 8-10 .444
Cuesta 3-4 .429 12 13 6-12 .333
Hancock 2-5 .286 6 16 6-10 .375
Oxnard 0-7 .000 2 21 5-9 .357

WSC MEN'S SOCCER
WSC POINTS SEASON
S Barbra 8-1-3 27 8-6-4
Canyons 8-3-1 25 11-6-1
Moorpark 7-4-1 22 9-6-2
Oxnard 6-3-3 21 10-5-4
LA Missn 6-3-3 21 9-7-3
Hancock 3-6-3 12 5-10-4
Glendale 2-9-1 7 4-13-2
Citrus 0-11-1 1 2-14-2

WSC WOMEN'S SOCCER
NORTH WSC PTS. SEASON
Moorpark 8-0-2 26 14-0-4
Ventura 6-1-1 19 13-3-1
S Barbra 4-2-2 14 9-3-6
Cuesta 3-4-1 10 4-10-3
Oxnard 2-8 6 3-14-1
Hancock 0-8 0 0-14

WSC MEN'S WATER POLO (FINAL)
STANDINGS WSC SEASON
Ventura (1) 4-0 19-4
Cuesta (2) 3-1 19-12
L.A. Valley (3) 1-3 10-16
Citrus (4) 2-2 14-15
Santa Monica (5) 0-4 1-21
WSC Championships: L.A. Valley 14, Santa Monica 10; Ventura 13, L.A. Valley 8; Cuesta 14, Citrus 7; L.A. Valley 10, Citrus 6 (3rd place); Ventura 13, Cuesta 6 (championship)

WSC WATER POLO (final)
TEAMS WSC SEASON
Ventura (1) 4-0 18-4
Citrus (2) 3-1 15-11
Cuesta (3) 2-2 12-19
Santa Monica (4) 1-3 7-18
L.A. Valley (5) 0-4 5-20
WSC Championships: Santa Monica 6, L.A. Valley 4; Ventura 16, Santa Monica 6; Citrus 10, Cuesta 6; Cuesta 19, Santa Monica 12 (3rd place); Ventura 7, Citrus 6 (championship)

VALLEY GLEN -- Spencer McGrath and Jonnie Pare scored four goals apiece and goalie Cody Womack made 14 blocks in a dominating performance as the Ventura College men's water polo team defended its Western State Conference championship with a 13-6 win over rival Cuesta Saturday afternoon at Los Angeles Valley College.

Ventura (19-4) scored the first three goals in opening a 11-1 lead on Pare's goal three minutes into the second half.

"We played our best game as a whole," said Ventura head coach Mark Schmidt. "We played very, very well. We took control of the game and kept it.

"I was really proud of the guys."

Hopeful of a Top 4 place, Ventura now awaits their Southern California regional playoff seeding Monday.

Although the Ventura men could be without starter Mike Crowley and key reserve Michael Craft for its first postseason game. Both were ejected, along with two Cuesta players, as the game unraveled in the second half in the face of Ventura's huge lead.

"I felt like the game was going to get physical and I asked (the officials) to keep control of it," said Schmidt. "But they lost it."

Cuesta had as little luck handling Ventura's counterattacking speed as it did beating Womack.

"Cody was a wall today," said McGrath.

"He was definitely today's MVP," said Pare. "He played huge."

Carly Clark scored four goals, Emily Allen scored two goals and Marissa Herold made 11 saves, including a point-blank save to preserve the win with 37 seconds left, as the Ventura College women's water polo team defended its Western State Conference title with a 7-6 win over Citrus Saturday afternoon at the WSC Championships at Los Angeles Valley College.

Ventura (17-4) awaits its Southern California regional playoff seeding Monday as WSC champion.

Two previous 13-8 wins over Citrus (14-10) meant nothing when the Owls opened up first quarter leads of 3-1 and 4-2.

"We knew if we could just hold on, we were better conditioned," said Ventura coach Mary Giles.

Citrus kept Ventura's leading scorer, Clark, off the scoreboard for the first 10 minutes.

"I was getting a little frustrated," said the Agoura High product. "It was physical out there."

But the Pirates used man-advantage situations to work their way back into the game.

"Once we started drawing ejections, we were able to set the tempo," said Clark.

Down 4-2 after one quarter, Ventura scored five of the next six goals to take a 7-5 lead with 4:57 left in the third quarter.

Clark and Allen each scored twice on the man advantage during that span.

Citrus star Meghan Turner, who had been held to a single goal in Ventura's previous two wins over the Owls, scored her fourth goal to pull Citrus within 7-6 with 4:27 to play in the third quarter.

The final 12 minutes became a swim meet as Ventura turned up the defense.

"It was swimming back and forth," said Clark.

"That's what we train for," said sophomore Mary Dugan.

Ventura sophomore Marissa Herold kept her net empty for the final 12:27, making a huge point-blank save with 37 seconds to play as Citrus pressed for an equalizer on the advantage.

"That was fabulous," said Giles. "What a storybook ending for her, and for us really."

"She saved us," said Clark.

A decisive few days for the fall season arrives this weekend.

Looking to defend their conference titles, the Ventura College men's and women's water polo teams will be the top seeds at this weekend's Western State Conference championships at Los Angeles Valley College.

The two teams went a combined 8-0 in WSC play. Both will face the winner of a preliminary march between host Valley and Santa Monica Friday.

The Ventura men (17-4), ranked No. 4 in the state, have won seven of its past eight games behind firepower like Spencer McGrath (52 goals, 20 assists), Mike Crowley (52 goals, 19 assists) and Tyler McClure (44 goals).

The Ventura women (16-4) have been led by the offense of sophomore Carly Clark, who has 91 goals, and the defense of sophomore Mary Dugan, who will defend high-scoring Citrus driver Meghan Turner should the two teams meet in Saturday's title game.

Turner has scored just one of her 72 goals in a pair of Ventura 13-8 wins over Citrus.

"We're pretty aware of what she can do," said Ventura coach Mary Giles. "We're really good defensively this year."

Two years after the Moorpark College women's soccer team ended cross-county rival Ventura's 10-year hole on the WSC North by clinching the title with a scoreless draw at the VC Sportsplex, the two teams will find themselves in the same place, in a similar situation Friday night at 5:30.

First-place Moorpark (13-0-3, 8-0-1) can clinch its second title in three years with a win or a draw. Second-place Ventura (13-3), 7-1) can top the table with a win.

"It's basically the same situation," said Ventura coach Steve Hoffman. "It's one of those games when you know you have to step up and do your thing.

"It's an interesting match. We know what we have to do. We have to go and try to win the game."

Moorpark earned its advantage with a 1-0 home win over Ventura on Oct. 13.

"I think we played pretty well the first time around, we just didn't finish in front of goal," said Hoffman. "We've got to deal with their speed and they defend awfully well."

The game features two of the high-scoring attackers in the state in Ventura's Jazmarae Strozier and Moorpark's Lindsey McClellan.

Strozier, the Buena High product whose father, Clint, played football for Moorpark, leads the state with 22 goals. Moorpark does not post its statistics.

"I think we're just going to play the best we can," said McClellan. "Hopefully it all works out."

The Moorpark College women's volleyball team (14-1, 6-0), ranked No. 4 in the state, can take a two-match lead in the WSC North if it extends its conference winning streak to 19 matches Tuesday at second-place Santa Barbara City (16-2, 5-1).

Five of the six local programs qualified for Saturday's Southern California cross-country championships at the familiar hilly course at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut.

Oxnard and Ventura college, which qualified both its men's and women's teams with solid finishes at last week's WSC Championships, is aiming for the Top 14 finishes that would mean a state meet berths.

"That would be really good," said Oxnard coach Gino Sharp. "It's difficult to just send one team."

Although like many local programs, the Pirates have been stricken by illness.

"It's a hard time of the year to keep everyone healthy, especially this year," said Ventura College coach Nancy Fredrickson. "It's gone through the entire team."