Zach Senator and Griffin Koffman score Pali High’s last two goals in the finals.
Pali High water polo player Kian Lotfi talks about winning the Westside Classic.
“Repeat!” was the mantra of the Palisades High boys varsity water polo team before the fourth annual Westside Classic and repeat is what the Dolphins did Saturday, splashing Culver City 13-8 to defend their title at Brentwood School.
Palisades finished first out of eight teams in the two-day tournament, co-hosted by Palisades and Brentwood. The Dolphins beat Eagle Rock 18-1 and Santa Monica’s JV 15-3 Friday at Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center and wrapped up group play with a 12-8 victory over Westlake Saturday morning, setting the stage for an afternoon showdown with the other group winner, Culver City.
Zach Senator led the way for the Dolphins with 15 goals, 15 steals and 10 assists in four games, Kian Lotfi added 11 goals, eight assists and six steals, Griffin Koffman had seven goals and Mitchell Kim, Lucas Silva and Quinn Godfredsen each netted six goals. Solid goaltending throughout the tournament by Ross Aronson (12 saves) and Matt Affeld (nine saves) also contributed to Pali High’s triumph.
“In this tournament we got our bench a lot of playing time and it was a good experience,” Lotfi said. “Westlake was the toughest team. We knew we had a strong chance to win it going in. We lost a lot of our starters from last year but playing Junior Olympics over the summer helped us develop.”
The Dolphins play in the South Bay Tournament on Oct. 17-18 at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach. Pali High opens league Sept. 29 at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies.
— Steve Galluzzo
Photos courtesy of Robin Aronson
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