Girls water polo 6-3 for December

Fallbrook High School’s girls water polo team had a 6-3 record for the first month of the 2011-12 season.

“I think we kind of surpassed the expectations,” said Fallbrook coach Sean Redmond.

Two of those losses were at the Dec. 1 to 3 Rancho Bernardo Tournament where the Warriors won their other three games. After starting the tournament with a 7-3 win over Steele Canyon, the Warriors fell to Torrey Pines by a 10-4 margin. “That game was closer than the score showed,” Redmond said.

Fallbrook then took a 12-9 victory over Mount Carmel, lost an 8-7 overtime match against Westview, and closed the tournament with a 7-5 win over Poway.

“I knew we’d have a tough tournament,” Redmond said. “We won more games than we thought we would.”

Mount Carmel was the CIF Division II runner-up for the 2010-11 season. Mount Carmel, Torrey Pines, Westview, and Poway all play in the Palomar League, where last year Ramona finished in the cellar but won more games in the CIF playoffs than the Bulldogs did in league competition. “The schedule we’ve had so far is definitely going to help us as we get into league play,” Redmond said. “I think we’re going to be competitive because of that.”

Fallbrook followed the Rancho Bernardo Tournament with a 9-4 loss to Granite Hills at the Montgomery Middle School pool. The Eagles were held to four goals in the first half and one goal in the fourth quarter. “We had a few lapses in the third period,” Redmond said.

That Dec. 6 loss in El Cajon was followed by a Dec. 7 trip to Temecula, where Fallbrook defeated Great Oak by a 6-5 score. The Warriors’ home opener Dec. 13 was a 14-8 victory over Valley Center while a Dec. 14 home match against Orange Glen had a 17-6 result in Fallbrook’s favor.

“We’re starting to show some signs of some offense,” Redmond said. “Our defense has been fairly solid throughout.”

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