Water polo: Halpin opts for new foe

Bill Halpin still isn't sure he made the right decision.

But with the Merced College women's water polo team's latest heart-breaking loss to Foothill still fresh in their minds, the MC coach felt compelled to act.

After losing the Coast Conference Tournament championship game 5-4 to Foothill in the final seconds, the Lady Devils were given the No. 6 seed out of six teams for the NorCal championships.

With top seeds Sierra and Modesto getting first-round byes, MC was set to square off with No. 3 Foothill.

"I knew that the girls wanted to get back after them after losing twice by one goal," Halpin said. "I even thought we probably had their number this time, but the last match with them was a really physical battle.

"I was a little concerned if we got right back in the pool with them that there could be a fight."

Halpin said the seeding committee takes three criteria into account when setting up the tournament.

How a team finishes in its conference, how it did against common opponents and how it did against the other teams head-to-head are all considered.

Santa Rosa (11-15-1) was originally given a higher seed than the Lady Devils, despite MC (23-5) beating them earlier in the season.

Thinking a new opponent might do his squad some good, Halpin decided to challenge the seeds.

When the dust finally settled, MC was seeded fourth and will take on No. 5 Santa Rosa today at West Valley College. The ball is set to drop at 2:30 p.m.

"We'll ultimately see if it was a good call, but at the time I thought it was worth a try," Halpin said. "Everyone at the tournament is going to be a good team, so it's not like the talent level is going to drop off."

The Lady Devils beat Santa Rosa 10-5 at the Merced College Invitational back in October.

Halpin said the game wasn't a fair barometer, however.

Santa Rosa All-Conference goalkeeper Ariel Lockshaw only played a portion of the match. The freshman was forced to exit the contest after taking a ball to the face.

"We've seen them before, but I guess they weren't at full strength," driver Alexas Deatherage said. "We're less worried about them and more worried about ourselves.

"We know we're a good team and we really want to make it to state."

First MC must survive the tournament's opening day.

The winner of the game will face top-seeded Sierra at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and the loser will be eliminated.

If a team makes it to Saturday, the tournament becomes double-elimination, with the top three teams advancing to the state tournament.

"It's been an unexpected year, but it's one we'd like to keep going," Halpin said. "The first step is to just make it to Saturday, then anything can happen."