Saying the Palisades High boys varsity water polo team was not at full strength for last weekend’s Hank Vellekamp Tournament in Orange County would be a gross understatement.
Already missing Griffin Koffman (torn ligament in his thumb), the Dolphins were without leading scorer Zach Senator (scarlet fever) after the second game. Kian Lotfi aggravated his wrist and missed two games, Jacob Lazaruk couldn’t play Saturday because of a mild concussion he suffered Friday after being kicked in the head and Quinn Godfredsen was also out with a concussion. Against top-notch competition, the results were predictable.
Palisades first faced Mater Dei’s junior varsity and lost 22-8. The Dolphins rebounded to beat Santa Monica 11-8 later Friday, then lost to Fountain Valley (15-8), Beaumont (17-7) and Esperanza (15-8) Saturday.
Lucas Silva led Palisades with seven goals in the tournament, Lotfi added six, Senator had five in two games and Lazaruk and Mitchell Kim each had four. A standout was goalie Blake Levine, who had 35 saves in the first three games.
Several JVs moved up to varsity for Monday’s league finale against Banning, a 15-6 victory.
Greg Vitous led the way with five goals, Will Schwerdtfeger had three, Eli Ackerman, Sammy Speiser and Isai Elias each had two and Nick Frey added one.
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