Costa Mesa Aquatics Club claims bronze in 12U, 18U divisions in Holiday Cup

Costa Mesa Aquatics Club entered water polo teams in the 12-and-under, 14U and 18U divisions of the Holiday Cup around Irvine and El Toro this past weekend.

CMAC’s 12U and 18U teams earned bronze medals with third-place finishes, and the 14U team placed fourth.

The 12U team led by coaches Dustin Serrano, Morgan Turner and Mitch Grandia made it through the Saturday group games undefeated with wins against Shores (16-4) and Elite (17-5).

“I am very happy with our teams playing today, I am especially excited that our younger players Lucas Ramirez and Jacob Fry played so well in the older age group,” Coach Serrano said. “Our goalie Wyatt Juelfs made some outstanding saves and we could always count on Landon Akerstrom and Lucas McMahon for the scoring when we needed it the most.”

After a tough loss against Vanguard (12-5) on Sunday the team came back with vengeance in the bronze-medal game against Irvine Kahuna. The game started close but with an impressive five goals scored by Eric Duesund and impressive defense by Daniel Shin, Everett Rowden and Kira Anderson the team led 6-3 after the first quarter and 10-4 at the half.

After a shutout in the third quarter by Madilynn Ambrose, the Kahuna made a comeback in the fourth quarter. CMAC held off Kahuna with the help of two goals by Evan MacElwee and one by Nathan Duesund to win 18-10.

“I was very impressed by our team’s performance today, especially Gavin Fisher’s work in front of both goals and William Fry’s sprinting in this decisive win against a tough opponent,” Coach Grandia said.

Both the CMAC 14U team led by Coach Cody Serrano and the 18U team led by Sam Figueroa made it to the semifinals on Sunday with the 18U team claiming third place after a close game against Utah and the 14U team placing fourth.

— Reader submission