Bobcats sweep through GWC Tourney

The Saddleback men's water polo team started the season with four straight wins at the Golden West Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Huntington Beach.  Andrew Barnuevo was a dominating force for the Bobcats.

Saddleback made a statement on opening weekend, defeating Ventura College, Orange Coast College, Cerritos College and American River College to open the 2023 campaign.

Saddleback started with a dominating win over Ventura on Friday morning, defeating the Pirates 21-6.  The Bobcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the game, with Donald Robertson and Oliver Child scoring five goals apiece in the game.

Saddleback finished up Friday with an 18-11 win over rival Orange Coast.  The Bobcats led 9-7 late in the opening half before scoring five straight goals to open up a big lead on the Pirates.  Andrew Barnuevo had a big game, scoring eight times.

Saddleback opened the Saturday slate with a 17-12 win against Cerritos.  The game was tight through three quarters, with Saddleback holding a 12-10 lead.  The Bobcats then dominated the fourth quarter, 5-2, to improve to 3-0.  Barnuevo finished with seven goals in the win while Robertson had five.

Saddleback finished the tournament with a game against one of the better programs in Northern California, American River.  The game was back-and-forth, with Saddleback scoring four straight goals to open the game and ARC answering with three of their own in the second quarter.  The two teams were locked in a 7-7 tie midway through the final quarter when the Bobcats made a run, scoring four of the final five goals to get past the Beavers.  Barnuevo was again the catalyst, scoring six goals in the win.

Barnuevo led the Bobcats with 23 goals over the four games.  Robertson finished with 13.

Saddleback (4-0) will open Orange Empire Conference play at Fullerton College on Wednesday (3:00 PM) before jumping on a plane for a tournament in Connecticut next weekend.