Garrett Smerdon Selected PCAC Athlete of the Week
9/25/2012
The Pacific Coast Athletic Conference has honored water polo player Garrett Smerdon from San Diego Mesa as Men’s Athlete of the Week.
Smerdon, a sophomore driver from Coronado High School who has scored 38 goals on the season, also scored 21 goals during the week as the Olympians went 3-2.
Smerdon had four goals in a 14-11 loss to Grossmont, three in a 16-14 win over Fullerton, two in a 20-9 loss to Cerritos, five in a 13-10 win over Santa Monica and seven as the Olympians defeated Los Angeles Trade Tech 17-13.
11/6/2010 - The San Diego Mesa College men's water polo team captured the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference championship by defeating Grossmont 17-16 at host Miramar College pool. The men will be competing in the Southern California Regional Championships next weekend.
Oct. 27, 2010 - Following SD Mesa's 12-8 win over Southwestern College Wednesday, the Olympians clinched a share of the double round conference championship with a 6-2 record. They also claimed the top seed at the PCAC championships to be held at Miramar College November 5 & 6. Sophomore Josh Grall led scorers against Southwestern with 4 goals, and Rafael Bedolla tallied 9 saves.
SEPT. 13, 2010 - Water Polo San Diego Mesa College water polo player Josh Grall is the Pacific Coast Conference Men's Athlete of the Week for the week that ended on Sunday.
Grall, a sophomore center (2-meter offensive player) from Righetti High School in Santa Maria and a transfer from Grossmont College, scored 17 goals for the Olympians as they went 4-1 in five games last week.
The Coronado resident found the back of the net six times as the Olympians opened the season - and their PCAC schedule - with a 15-13 overtime victory over his former school, Grossmont. In the West Valley Tournament, he buried three goals in a 9-5 win over Cuesta, the No. 5-ranked team in the state in the JCWaterPolo.com coaches' poll.
An individual may be selected as PCAC Athlete of the Week only once in his season of sport, but may receive honorable mention an unlimited number of times. An athlete does not have to complete in a PCAC-sponsored sport to be recognized. Southwestern is a member of the East Conference in football. Palomar plays football in the Southern Conference.
PCAC 2010-2011 MEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Sept. 5 Devin Taverna, Palomar
Alex McLeland, Grossmont Football
Sept. 12 Josh Grall, San Diego Mesa Water Polo
Sept 9-10, 2010
The men's team headed to Saratoga, CA to compete in their first tournament of the 2010 season at West Valley College. The team got off to a great start beating Cabrillo College 11-8 with Sophomore Josh Grall scoring 3 goals and teammates Sullivan and Moreau each scoring 2. More help came from their team as Jonny Sensenbaugh, Brennan Casey, and Tanner Miller each put away 1 goal each and on defense, goalie Rafael Bedolla split time and came up with 4 saves of his own.
Merced College would become Mesa's next opponent and they would fall to the Olympians 9-6. Again, the team was lead by the scoring of Sensenbaugh, Grall, Casey, Kelly Sullivan, and Miller. Defensively, Stiverson played the whole game and had 6 saves on the game.
Host school, West Valley would prove to be a challenge for the Mesa Men giving them their first defeat of the tournament in a final score of 6-15. The Olympians scoring belonged to Grall with 4 goals and Martel with 2 of his own. In the cage, Stiverson and Bedolla would share playing time and earn 5 and 2 saves respectively.
The Olympians would battle back against a #6 ranked Cuesta to win 9-5 and complete a 3-1 record for the tournament weekend. Scoring was a team effort as Grall, Sensenbaugh, Casey, Moreau and Mike Aguilar all contributed to the win. “The defense is what truly shined in the win against Cuesta, with Kale Stiverson eating up 10 saves and the leadership of Brennan Casey and Michael Aguilar at the center back position containing Cuesta's offensive production to 2 goals in the first three quarters of play,” according to Coach Resch.
Overall the tournament was a team success as the Olympians scored a total of 35 goals and racked up 32 saves in the cage. Sophomore Josh Grall tallied 12 goals for the weekend and freshman player, Jonny Sensenbaugh contributed 6 for the tournament. On the defensive side of the pool Kale Stiverson would stop 26 potential goals and Rafael Bedolla would stop another 6.
Sept 8, 2010
In the season opener for the Mesa Men's Water Polo the men's team traveled to the Joan Kroc Center in La Mesa, CA to battle with defending Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Champions, Grossmont College. The Olympians understood the task before them as they faced the #4 ranked team in the state. Clearly showing that they meant business, Mesa applied early pressure leading the Griffins in the first quarter 3-2. Unfortunately for Mesa, who scored 3 goals in the 2nd, Grossmont would rally back and score 6 goals giving them a 2 goal lead going into the third quarter. The 3rd and 4th quarters solely belonged to Mesa College as they scored 2 and 4 goals respectively giving way to a tie of 12-12 at the end of regulation forcing 2 overtimes. The Olympians defense and standout goalie, Kale Stiverson came up big to hold off the Griffins to only score 1 goal in overtime while the offense sealed the victory by scoring 3 goals thus ending the game at 15-13, Mesa College. Sophomore player, Josh Grall, led the team with an impressive 6 goals scored while commanding the center position the whole game. Freshman, Jonny Sensenbaugh played a very tough 2M position and earned 4 goals of his own. Other scoring contributions came from Brennan Casey (2), Tanner Miller (2), and Sam Moreau (1). The men's team demonstrated that they are force to be reckoned with and contributes their successful outcome to, “supporting each other through the ups and downs of the contest. Guys stepped up or picked each other up throughout the game which kept us in it, even after a rough second quarter,” according to head coach, Nathan Resch. Coach Resch feels that in order for his team to stay successful this season they will have to be able to capitalize more on their 6-5 opportunities and remain composed and patient. If they can do that then, “we will be able to finish with the best option.” The Men's team will play their first home game at Mesa College on Sept. 15 at 3:15pm vs. Palomar College.
2009 Recap
The Olympians finished the season with an impressive record of 15-12, a regular Pacific Coast Conference record of 6-2 and second place in the PCC tournament.
Several SD Mesa players earned post-season awards:
Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week (9/6/2009)
Kelly Sullivan
All-Conference Awards
Ian Davidson – 1st Team
Jose Davila – 1st Team
Nick Van Nordheim – 1st Team
Andrew Shaffer – 2nd Team
Michael Aguilar – 2nd Team
Patrick Sellers – Honorable Mention
Kelly Sullivan – Honorable Mention
Joey Hatch – Honorable Mention
SD Mesa Team Awards
Most Valuable Player – Ian Davidson
Most Valuable Defender – Jose Davila & Michael Aguilar
Most Improved – Tim Dahlberg
Most Inspirational – Ian Davidson
Head Coach Nathan Resch
Head Coach Nathan Resch is in his fourth year at the helm of men's water polo and men's swimming and diving. He brings a commitment to developing great student-athletes that succeed in their academic, athletic and career objectives. Coach Resch's successes as a student-athlete in water polo and swimming at UC Santa Barbara, and coaching achievements at previous appointments as Head Coach of Foothill College Men's Water Polo, coach at the Stanford Water Polo Club, and Santa Barbara Water Polo Club, adds a wealth of experience to the men's aquatics programs that promotes academic and athletic achievement in all student-athletes.