Merced water polo teams begin title defense with sweep of Buhach
Merced boys water polo’s Central California Conference title defense didn’t begin quite how coach Kit Grattan had hoped.
Grattan said a prepared Buhach Colony squad was unimpressed by the Bear’s 5-0 showing at the McCullum Tournament last weekend, and took full advantage of a sluggish start from Merced in the opening half.
Behind Abraham Santana (five goals) and Ethan Eagleton (two goals, five assists, 10 saves) the Bears (6-0, 1-0 CCC) settled down in the second half and pulled away for a 15-7 victory.
Luke Bird paced the Thunder (0-1 CCC) with four goals and Daniel Navarro made 12 saves.
The Merced girls got their title defense started a little more efficiently, using a stellar defensive game to break things open early.
Kathryn Elgin paced the Bears (1-0 CCC) with five goals and two assists in a 9-4 victory over Buhach. Stephanie Hart added two goals and Clare Camper and Frances Carpenter each finished with one.
Boys water polo
Atwater 14, Pitman 8 in Turlock – Connor Norton scored five goals and Wyatt Pimentel chipped in four as the Falcons (3-3, 1-0 CCC) cruised to a conference-opening victory over the Pride.
Vince Baraldi made 11 saves for Atwater as it limited Pitman to three goals through three quarters.
Turlock 17, Golden Valley 9 in Merced – Angus McLeod had four goals and two assists and Tommy Hamilton added four goals, but the Cougars (2-4, 0-1 CCC) couldn’t keep pace with Turlock.
Girls Water Polo
Golden Valley 10, Turlock 8 in Merced – Marissa Wyan (five goals) and Anna Neufeld (four) helped spark a wild rally as the Cougars (4-1, 1-0 CCC) erased a 7-2 second-half deficit for a big home win.
Sky Cyr made 12 saves in the victory.
Volleyball
Le Grand 3, Gustine 0 in Le Grand – Katie Farnsworth’s team-high 11 kills and 23 digs led the Bulldogs (2-2, 1-0 SL) to a 25-14, 25-17, 25-22 league-opening win over the Redskins.
Soccer
Atwater 3, Pitman 2 in Atwater – Gerardo Delgadillo netted his second goal of the game in the 79th minute to keep the Falcons (12-0-1, 2-0 CCC) undefeated in CCC play.
Merced 4, Turlock 2 in Turlock – Alejandro Diaz, Adrian Lomeli, Emmanuel Vega and Axel Ramirez all found the back of the net as the Bears (7-1-3, 2-0 CCC) erased a 2-0 halftime deficit with a big second half on the road.
Golden Valley 3, Buhach Colony 1 in Merced – Sergio Solter scored twice and Cruz Melgarejo added a goal and an assist as the Cougars (7-1-1, 1-1 CCC) bounced back from their first loss of the season with a convincing win over the Thunder.
David Ortiz-Sanchez scored in the second half for Buhach Colony (0-2 CCC).
Tennis
Central Valley 6, Livingston 3 in Livingston – Taranpreet Kaur captured a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory in No. 1 singles, but the Wolves couldn’t knock Central Valley from the undefeated ranks.
Turlock 8, Merced 1 in Turlock – Laura Rabago’s straight-set singles victory helped the Bears avoid a Turlock sweep.
Buhach Colony 5, Golden Valley 4 in Merced – The Thunder’s Maddison Hicks rallied for a big 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win as BC held off Golden Valley.
Pitman 6, Atwater 3 in Atwater – Julie Dailey, Alyssa Gutierrez and Celeste Ornelas all had singles victories for the Falcons, but Pitman’s doubles sweep proved the difference.
Golf
El Capitan 206, Los Banos 262 in Merced – Selena Carbaugh’s 47 and Marcelina Marino’s 49 helped El Capitan (6-0) finish up the first round of WAC play with a perfect record.
LB’s Morgan Pimentel paced all scorers with a 43.
Livingston 215, Pacheco 256 in Chowchilla – Lexi Gonzalez shot a low round of 49 to help improve the Wolves to 4-1 in the WAC.
Jasmine Yruegas led the Panthers with a 56.
Buhach Colony 250, Golden Valley 293 in Chowchilla – Sabrina Thao (43) and Tianna Lee (46) helped keep the Thunder undefeated in CCC play with a road win over the Cougars.
Michaela McNeill and Kaleah Bese led GV with a pair of 56s.
This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 11:23 PM with the headline "Merced water polo teams begin title defense with sweep of Buhach."