Cuesta men’s water polo defeated the #4 ranked Los Angeles Valley Monarchs, 15-10 on Wednesday, clinching the top seed in the upcoming 2024 Western State Conference (WSC) Tournament.

The Cougars got out to an early 3-0 lead with the help of a pair of goals by freshman Johnny Starr to start the game. It was back and forth from there into halftime with Cuesta holding onto the three-goal lead, 8-5.

Unlike their most recent game against the Monarchs, the Cougars kept their foot on the gas until the final whistle. Sophomore Ethan Merrit continued to prove his worth for a captain spot with three goals all in the second half. Starr finished the day with four total goals and sophomores Andonis Petroutsas and Oliver Finley each had two goals to round out the top scorers.

The win marks another undefeated season against the WSC (4-0) under second-year head coach Greg Enloe. After just losing to the same Monarchs last weekend, Enloe credited the focus of the team to turn around and beat their rival in an important seeding match.

“Our big focus is effort, focus and attitude, and when we played them, those three things were hit or miss throughout the game,” Enloe said. “And then in this game, we did a good job of being locked in on all three of those characteristics.”

Cuesta is now 18-13 on the season. After the upcoming annual alumni game on Saturday, the Cougars will turn their focus toward the WSC tournament, in which Cuesta currently holds a four-title win streak. The tournament is scheduled to start next Thursday at the Ventura Aquatic Center.

“In our conference, we need to win both games just to better seed us in regionals,” Enloe said. “And then when we get to regionals, it’s really important we win that first game. If we win the first game, we’re locked into top four, which means we go to state.”