Bringing home : Local residents help club team win title

The gold-medal-winning team from the Stanford Water Polo Club did something even the Stanford University water polo teams were unable to do this year: beat a team from Southern California to win a championship. Led by five players from Los Altos/Los Altos Hills – Greg Guslani (St. Francis High), Mark Garner (St. Francis), Colin Mulcahy (Los Altos High), Kevin Cole (St. Francis) and Mitch Hamilton – the club’s 14-under boys team powered through the competition at the U.S. Club Water Polo Championships July 8-10 in San Diego. Among the Los Altos natives, Mulcahy and Garner are starters; Guslani, Cole and Hamilton are reserves who play key roles on the team. Head coach Matt Schubert said the trio “provided valuable minutes as reserves and played great defense on key possessions of the other team.” Mulcahy, who is one of the team’s starting 2-meter position players – or as his mother Tami describes it, “the guy in the middle that gets beat up that scores a lot of goals” – provided one of the tournament’s more memorable moments. In a tough 14-12 semifinal victory over one of the better teams in the division, SOCAL, Mulcahy scored an “unbelievable backhand out of 2 meters,” Schubert said. “He started the ball in his right hand, switched to his left and faked a backhand shot, then switched back to his right where he let one fly and scored.” In the championship game, the Stanford boys took on the Rosebowl club and emerged with a 10-6 victory. For Garner, the win meant a lot. “When we made it to the championship and the clock hit zero, it (felt like) everything we worked for had paid off,” he said. Mulcahy attributed much of Stanford’s success to team chemistry and not dwelling on individual accomplishments. “We figured out that as a team we played better than apart,” he said. Garner echoed that sentiment: “My team really matured during the tournament.” Up next on Stanford’s schedule is the Water Polo Junior Olympics. Thirty-two teams will compete in the event, taking place Saturday through Tuesday in San Jose and Cupertino. And Stanford is eyeing yet another medal. “Our goal since day one of the season has been to achieve a (Junior Olympics) gold medal,” Schubert said. “As long as (the players) collectively play together and know that they left every ounce of energy in the pool for each game, any place will be satisfying. All I can ask of these guys, win or lose, is to always give it their all during every single game, respect their teammates, their opponents and to love the sport for all it’s worth.” For more information on the Junior Olympics, visit www.usawaterpolo.com.