Water Polo Proving That Anything Is Possible

By Bill Fusco, Director of Athletics

It was a good omen. An SSU Women's Water Polo match played under blue skies and sunshine. That is in contrast to some of the past matches I have attended with rain, cold weather and steam rising from the choppy pool surface. But this afternoon was as close to a perfect water polo day as it gets for the Seawolves. The reason? The Santa Clara University Broncos. The NCAA Division I and 20th ranked Broncos had been victorious over our Seawolves 18 consecutive times before the ball hit the pool today.

Despite falling behind early in the first quarter 2-0, SSU was in the mood to put an end to this win drought by overpowering the physical Broncos, winning the match handily, 12-4. The crowd was enthusiastic and supportive for the Seawolves providing even more inspiration to beat the Broncos and give the team perhaps the biggest win in the history of the program.

Coincidentally, it was precisely six years ago that SSU students passed a fee referendum that would allow SSU Athletics to add Women's Water Polo as an intercollegiate sport. Under the guidance of head coaches Alicia Hansel and then Coralie Simmons, the program has grown each year reaching the competitive level of many of their NCAA Division I competitors in the Western Water Polo Association.

Looking ahead, I can see a need for some bigger bleachers and a new scoreboard for our supportive fans. But more importantly, it is time to seriously look at that open field just east of the Rudloff Pool and envision a state of the art 50 meter competition pool for our Seawolves. If our Seawolves can beat #20 Santa Clara, then you have to believe that anything is possible.

Bauer Named CCAA Golfer Of The Week

Congratulations to Patrick Bauer on being named CCAA Golfer of the Week. While Jarin Todd seems to grab the lion's share of headlines (and rightfully so), one should not overlook Bauer's accomplishments in his two seasons at SSU. Last season, as a freshman, Bauer became just the third golfer in school history to earn All-American honors (Todd and Kyle Hopkins are the others). Furthermore, he was just the second freshman in school history- any sport- to be named an All-American. The first was Melissa Costa of women's track and field.

Seawolves Fast Break

Well, it's been quite a while since our last post. Looks like we need to get the blog going again.

In the meantime, you can now listen to each week's "Seawolves Fast Break" radio program on the Seawolves' website (www.sonomaseawolves.com). Through a great partnership with KBOB and KSXY, the Fast Break program runs every Wednesday. I hear the voice actors that do the show are exceptional as well.