Locals to compete in Junior Olympics
In just their first year of existence, Exeter’s women’s water polo club is already making waves.
The club includes nine local high school athletes and is headed to the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics after placing seventh in the Central CA Zone Girls Junior Olympic qualifier tournament in Modesto.
Porterville’s Alyssa Bodoh, Rosemary Chapman, Emily Herrera, Allie Whitten, and Allison Tristao; Monache’s Camryn Berra, Isabel Sutherland, and Isabel Lobue; and Strathmore’s Samantha Dieterle all play on the Exeter club.
In the two-day tournament on June 24-25, Exeter took down some of the top teams to make it to the Junior Olympic games slated for July 27-30 in Irvine.
Exeter opened the tournament with an 11-7 win over fourth-seeded American River before losing 16-6 to Big Valley. Against 11th-seeded Modesto, Exeter was once again victorious with a 15-7 win.
The team lost two straight games, 18-4 to Royal 559 and 7-2 to Sacramento. They finished the tournament 3-3 overall with a close 9-8 win over ninth-seeded Royal 559 B.
“I am very proud of the hard work the ladies from this area have been putting in,” said head coach Jack Amaral. “They started the qualifier with a big upset and with a lot of intensity. They continued that run and capped the weekend off with upsetting the ninth seed.”
Amaral is a Granite Hills High School graduate, where he played water polo for the Grizzlies from 2002-2006. He went on to play to for the University of Redlands before returning to Porterville where he is the band director at Pioneer Middle School.
“I’ve always wanted to coach in the area and give back to the community I grew up in,” he said. “The goal of this club is to raise the level of play in the Porterville area for all the high schools.”
The Exeter Water Polo Club would also like to thank the City of Exeter for hosting the team; Stafford’s Chocolates, Debbie’s Legal Typing, Vince Lobue and all the parents for their support.
Any girls interested in joining the club can contact coach Amaral at 909-782-7157.