The pressure was on for San Marcos coach Chuckie Roth on that Saturday his girls water polo team played No. 1 Dos Pueblos for the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 title.
Before coaching the Royals against the crosstown rival they lost twice against during Channel League play, Roth was attending his sons’ — Kumani and Indiana — youth basketball games at the YMCA that morning.
“We talked the night before, before they went to bed, and I said, ‘What if we went 3 for 3 tomorrow in games, guys?’” Roth said during the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table’s tribute to the CIF-champion San Marcos girls water polo team at Monday’s press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
Kumani wasn’t sure if his team could win. He told his dad, “We’re playing the team that beat us by15 points last time!”
Always the motivator, Roth responded: “‘Kumani, you’re going to be great on the basketball court.’
“And Kumani’s team went out and won. And, Indiana’s team won and played a great game.”
Now came the Royals’ big game against DP in front of huge crowd at the Elings Aquatic Center.
Indiana reminded his dad before the title game, “Dad, you know what this means, right,” Roth recalled his son telling him.
His thought: “ ‘Oh gosh, we got a lot of pressure.’
“But we came through, and Indy’s first comment after the game was, ‘Dad, we went 3 for 3.’
“My kids make me better, and I appreciate the team for embracing that also.”
In an epic game before a huge crowd, Roth’s Royals won 4-3.
Roth said winning the championship was the end result of a process the players bought into and followed over the years.
“What we did went years back. We’re not talking about months, we’re not talking about games, we’re not talking about weeks. We’re talking about years, when these kids were freshmen and sophomores and had kids to look up to and mentor and guide them to who they are today.”
He expressed his appreciation on how the team shared in the community’s effort to deal with the adversity from the fire and floods.
“One of the things we wanted to do was become one of the most resilient teams in the community. I think we did that,” said Roth.
“We had a tough road in the playoffs. We had to beat the No. 2 (Laguna Beach), 3 (Mater Dei) and No. 1 team. In my knowledge, that’s never been accomplished before at the Division 1 level.”
BASEBALL
Dos Pueblos
Seniors Isaac Coffey and Dylan Kelley have been leading the charge for Dos Pueblos. They share the team lead in pitching wins with three apiece and have produced at the plate, helping the Chargers to an 8-2 record and seven straight wins.
Coffey follows in the success of his brother Luke Coffey, who is starting at Westmont, and his cousin Dustin Demeter, who’s playing at the University of Hawaii.
“Isaac’s been a mainstay in our program for four years,” Hedricks said. “He stepped in last year as our shortstop. He replaced his brother who is now at Westmont and his cousin who is at Hawaii.”
Kelley has been pitching for DP since his freshman year, and coach George Hedricks said “his bat has caught up to the rest of his game this season.”
Kelley was named the MVP at the Rancho Cucamonga Cougar Classic tournament last week.
Westmont
The Warriors (23-12) jumped from fourth to second place in the GSAC and have a big week of games coming up. They play at The Master’s in a rain make-up game on Tuesday and host first-place William Jessup Friday and Saturday.
Coach Robert Ruiz said the Warriors will get 6-foot-6 right-hander Toby Dunlap back from injury, which will boost the pitching staff.
“I feel like we’re in a good place,” he said.
LACROSSE
Dos Pueblos Girls
Dos Pueblos coach Sam Limkeman introduced seniors Vivian Le and Alexia Vance. Le is the only four-year player in the program. She is a standout defender who leads the team in interceptions and interferences.
“She’s extremely dependable,” Limkeman said. “We call her Team Mom.”
Vance, a third-year player, is a fast, athletic midfielder. She forces several turnovers and can score goals. She’s second on the team with 12.
The Chargers are 5-3 overall and 2-0 in league.
TRACK & FIELD
Carpinteria
Senior David Torres provides great leadership on the track, coach Van Latham said. Torres is also a top discus thrower.
Sophomore Victor Rinaldi was voted a team captain because of his great work ethic. At the recent Easter Relays, he ran a 51.9 400 on the anchor leg of the sprint medley relay, helping the team set a frosh-soph record.
Latham said Yvette Zamora is the latest in a long line of fast runners in her family. In addition to sprints, she is hurdling this season.
Latham noted that April is a big month for meets at Carpinteria. The Warriors will host the 99th annual Russell Cup on April 14 and the Santa Barbara County Championships on April 21. In between, they face Foothill Tech in a meet that should decided the Tri-Valley League dual meet title.
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