The No. 1 SBCC women’s water polo team continued its reign in the Western State Conference, as the Vaqueros beat No. 2 Ventura, 15-6, in the championship game at Citrus College to claim their seventh consecutive title.
“We had a great team victory, where everyone had significant contributions,” head coach Chuckie Roth said. “Ultimately, our defense, led by Chloe McKay, won the game. Megan Ditlof had the best game of her season, contributing several gritty plays.”
Ditlof, a Ventura native, set a season-high with four goals. Eden Tal matched her with four of her own. Both players end SBCC’s two-game tournament run with a team-best seven goals.
“It was rewarding to see the course of our improvement,” Roth said. “The last time we saw them, there was only a goal difference.”
Vaqueros had five players score goals in a 5-1 first period and added four goals in the second period to go up 9-3. Ditlof had a hat trick in the first half.
Charlize Winter and Emily Lopez both scored their second goals of the day in the third as Santa Barbara put the game on ice with another five-goal quarter.
Goalkeeper Chloe Mckay racking up 12 saves, just one shy of a season-high.
SBCC has now won 47 straight WSC games and is 57-2 all-time in conference play.
Next weekend, the Vaqueros (26-6 overall, 7-0 WSC) will compete at the SoCal Regional Championships, where they’ll be seeded No. 1 Following a first round bye, they will play a quarterfinal match on Friday against the winner of No. 8 Cypress and No. 9 Citrus.