Water Polo Crowned 2023 Cal Pac Champs
November 14, 2023
By Francisco Claudio
As the Fall season draws to a close, sports teams are amid their respective postseasons.
Some are still battling it out on the field, while others have just wrapped up their season with well-deserved celebrations.
This weekend, the Westcliff Athletics Department celebrated the Men's Water Polo team who were crowned the 2023 Cal Pac Champs.
The Warriors traveled to UC Merced to take part in the three-day event which would encompass four teams: The Westcliff Warriors, UC Merced, Cal Maritime, and OUAZ.
Westcliff, UC Merced, and Cal Maritime were battling for the inaugural Cal Pac trophy, and the winner would go on to face OUAZ for a shot to win the NAIA West title as well.
A chance to win not only one, but two trophies, and the Warriors were determined to make this weekend count.
The first two days would be a round-robin tournament which would decide which teams would face off to win the NAIA West title on day three.
The Warriors' first game was against Cal Maritime in which they took very little time to make their presence felt.
The Warriors scored easily and scored a lot as they went up 8-1 after the first period and it never got closer than that.
Westcliff took down the Keelhaulers 25-6 to start the tournament in the best way possible.
Manuel Augusto and Giorgi Khizanishivili led the way with five goals each.
Brock Kammerer, Andrej Maodus, and Alexa Sisakovic added three goals each.
Next, the Warriors took on OUAZ right after the win against the Keelhaulers.
This game was a nail-biter as both teams remained tied after four periods, leading to overtime.
Water Polo gets two guaranteed overtime periods of three minutes each.
Each team scored four goals during the overtime periods which meant the match would go to a sudden death, whoever scored first won.
In sports, there can only be one winner, as the Warriors lost the thriller 15-14.
Westcliff finished day one going 1-1.
On day two, the Warriors would face the host team, the UC Merced Bobcats.
The winner of that game would be crowned the inaugural 2023 Cal Pac Champion and move on to play against OUAZ on Sunday.
A lot was riding on this match, including the fact that the Warriors had lost to the Bobcats in the regular season 16-11.
Westcliff struck first with a goal from Augusto as the first period went back and forth.
After one period of play, both teams were tied at 3-3.
Patrick Zsiros scored one minute into the second period as the Warriors dominated from beginning to end.
They outscored UC Merced 5-1 and went into the half-time break up 8-4.
Westcliff won the third and fourth periods with a final score of 17-11.
It's fitting that the Warriors' winning score almost mirrored UC Merced's regular season victory over them.
Nonetheless, Westcliff won when it mattered the most and hoisted up the California Pacific Conference Trophy.
Sisakovic scored six goals and Augusto followed with four.
"Emotionally we were a lot more composed with UC Merced and we didn't let external factors affect our gamesmanship or our sportsmanship and that was the reason for a successful outcome," said head coach Erik Zimmerman.
But even after a win, athletes remain competitive and passionate, always striving for more.
The Warriors looked forward to Sunday's game against OUAZ for the NAIA West Title.
The second time playing against OUAZ in the tournament turned out to be just as intense as the first one.
Warriors won the first period but lost the second and third, as they were down three going into the fourth.
The Bobcats scored first as their lead grew to four.
But the Warrior attempted a heroic effort led by Augusto who scored four goals in a row to tie the game up 11-11.
But with 15 seconds left, OUAZ snuck one last goal in taking the glory for that day.
Final score, Warriors lost 12-11.
"Considering the amount of players that we have on the team this year we did an exceptional job," said Zimmerman. "Our job was simple, to go game by game and do the best we absolutely can and I think we did that against high-level competition like D1 schools. We played more D1-caliber teams than we did the NAIA team this year.
"Today, if a couple of us had kept a better handle on where we were in the game it might have turned out differently today."
The beauty of sports is that one day you could be celebrating, and the next you could be in tears after losing a close one.
But it was a successful trip for the Westcliff Warriors who were able to hoist one of the two trophies at play and have a bright future with Coach Zimmerman at the helm.
Zimmerman came in one week into the season and had to deal with many factors out of his control.
Now, he looks forward to dedicating time to building this team and bringing in more bodies in the offseason.
"My vision for the future is that first and foremost there be continuity in the program," said Zimmerman. "We need to bring in to establish several players greatly exceeding where are now. More importantly, getting the young men to understand that you are a student-athlete first.
"Manuel Augusto was a great add for us this year as well as Aleksa Sisakovic and our goalie Armin Jusztin did a fabulous job for us. He was probably one of the most consistent players on the team and that is what we're looking for."