Spartans look strong
Rio Mesa girls' water polo team ranked third in Division IV
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers EXPECTATIONS- Rio Mesa High's Bianca DiMarcello looks for an open teammate during practice Tuesday afternoon at RMHS. The Spartans are considered the team to beat in the Pacific View League.

It's difficult to top perfection, but that's exactly what the Rio Mesa High girls' water polo team is trying to accomplish this season.

Last year the Spartans won the Pacific View League title with a record of 10-0. Despite its strong play in league, however, Rio Mesa wasn't able to go far in the postseason when it lost to Quartz Hill High in the CIF-Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals.

Rio Mesa, which returns nearly of all its key players, expects to improve on that postseason performance, but not before the team takes care of its business in league.

"We have potentially the best water polo team this school has ever seen," head coach Keith McKnett said. "We have just about everyone back, and the whole team is playing very well together. . . .

"We're never going to look past league. With teams like Camarillo, Oxnard and Pacifica in our league, we can't afford to. I try to preach to my team that the season is a kind of like a marathon. We have to pace ourselves to succeed."

One thing senior Alicia Began said the Spartans need to improve is their game-by-game mentality.

"There are times when we are all focused and strong," Began said. "When that happens, we are very tough to beat. Then there are times when we play down to lower-level teams that aren't as good. That's when we suffer. We need to play each game tough, no matter how good the opponent is."

McKnett said the Spartans have played well on defense but need to be more consistent on offense.

"There are times when we will score about four goals in three minutes, but there are also times we go without scoring for four minutes," McKnett said. "If our offense can get a little better, we'll be tough to beat."

Began, the Pacific View League MVP last season, is the Spartans' primary offensive weapon.

"She's the real deal, the heart and soul of this team," McKnett said. "I just knew her freshman year she was going to be great. A lot of water polo players are content with just playing defense and passing the ball on offense. Not Alicia; she always had that 'I want to score a goal' mentality."

Joining Began on the offensive attack is fellow four-year starter Bianca DiMarcello.

"Bianca brings good leadership to this team," McKnett said. "She's done a great job on her conditioning this offseason. She has a great inside game, and she's a good shooter."

Although Began and DiMarcello will lead Rio Mesa, underclassmen such as Lindsay Wolny will also contribute. The junior goalkeeper has replaced 2007 graduate Sam Milner in the cage, and so far DiMarcello has been impressed with the newcomer.

"Lindsay is doing very well for us," DiMarcello said. "She sacrificed a huge personal issue to be with us in the Mistletoe Classic last week, and that meant a lot to the team. It showed that she definitely has the dedication to be a great player."

Other Spartans that will play important roles are sophomore Jenny Jamison and juniors Morgan McCardell and Lizz Branch.

McKnett called Branch "a very good defensive player that's very athletic," and Jamison "an offensive player with a lot of pop that will be able to score a lot of goals."

McKnett said McCardell has been the team's biggest surprise on offense.

While Rio Mesa is expected to be a powerhouse- they were ranked third in the CIFSS Division IV preseason coaches' poll- McKnett said he doesn't take anything for granted. The coach remembers the days when RMHS occupied the cellar in the Pacific View League standings.

"When I took over, we were the team everyone beat," McKnett said. "Soon enough we got some ideal seniors in the program that really turned things around.

"Girls such as Azzurra DiMarcello, Krystle Stalling and Karina Garcia held a meeting and basically decided they didn't want to just go through the motions; they wanted to win. We won the league title that year, in 2002-03, and have been going uphill ever since."

Bianca DiMarcello said she wants to continue the winning tradition her sister helped start five years ago.

"A lot of the girls on this team have been playing together for a long time now," she said. "It's our goingout party, and it's really important to us that it ends the right way."