Grizzlies water polo wins first girls title over Davis

Winning a first Sac-Joaquin Section pennant is special for any team. Winning it by slaying the dragon, by beating a rival school and the best team in the area, makes it even better. Granite Bay's varsity girls water polo team won its first section title on Nov. 16 by beating Davis 10-7. The Grizzlies had lost to the Blue Devils in the section title game three straight years, losing 20-3 in 2021, 13-7 in 2022 and 11-10 last year. Tyson Frenn has been the team's coach since 2017 and had thoughts of finally beating Davis this season. "We definitely thought winning a section title this year was a possibility," Frenn said. "This is our fourth year in a row playing Davis and they hadn't lost to a section opponent in eight years before we beat them 10-7 in an early season game in September. Once we beat them, we knew we could do it." Davis returned the favor in October with a 7-4 win, setting up the showdown in the section championship match. Granite Bay scored three goals in the first period to take an early lead and never trailed, leading 6-1 at halftime. Lucy Nihart led the team with six goals, while Chloe Mezoui, Lucy Arbuckle, Audrey Quilala and Avery Oldemeyer also scored. Goalie Brooke Boyer made 12 saves. "My experience being on varsity for the playoffs for four years, I've never gotten to beat Davis," Boyer said. "There was no better feeling than winning in the section championship against them. This was the first time in school history a girls' team has won, so it was a pretty big deal for not only us but the Granite Bay community. "What made our team so special this year was our bond, and how close we are with each other in and out of the pool. Being the goalkeeper and senior captain on the team gave me a huge role to step into this final season, and the goal I've been aiming for the past four years was finally accomplished by this victory." Nihart added, "Beating Davis was a feeling I will never forget. It was peer joy and happiness. After losing to Davis last year in the section final, it felt like beating them was impossible, but at the beginning of the season it was our team's ultimate goal to beat Davis in the section final game. To finally accomplishment this goal had me in tears. All of us put in so much work throughout the season and to see it pay off for not just me, but my whole team, was an unforgettable experience." Quilala was equally thrilled with the win. "Beating Davis was an unreal and magical experience that we had been working towards the entire season," Quilala said. "I grew up watching my sister play the unbeatable Davis, so it is very full circle that in my senior year, I can say Granite Bay has finally beat Davis in the section championships. During the game, I got two ejections, so I wasn't able to play in most of the first half, but I was proud to watch all of my teammate's hard work pay off in the pool. Everyone stepped up to the challenge, exceeding all expectations of the Granite Bay and Davis rivalry." Said Frenn, "Winning that game was pure joy, elation, relief, pride. The way they came together it was meant for them. Someone sent me a video of the last five seconds of this game and I think I've watched it 1,000 times." Frenn said it was just his team's year. "I felt we had the best player in the three main positions in water polo; we had the best goalie, Brooke Boyer, we had the best center, Lucy Nihart, and we had the best center defender, Audrey Quilala. Brook is so fiercely competitive and she probably wanted this the most. She comes from a water polo family and she watched her brother win a title. She really wanted this for herself and the program. I call her 'Playoff Brooke' because when the moment is the brightest, she plays her best. She played her best game of the season at the perfect moment." Nihart led the Granite Bay offense with 153 goals, 92 more than freshman teammate Tessa Gardin (61). "Lucy is the best center in the section," Frenn said. "She won the section's MVP award. In my opinion, she's a top-three center in all of Northern California. She gets double- and triple-teamed every game and she still managed to average almost five goals a game." Quilala's role, as the center defender, was to guard the best player on the other team. "Audrey is our best all-around player," Frenn said. "Her responsibility is to guard the best player on the other team. Nobody helps her; she just locks that player down. She's our best driver, best passer, smartest player; she's the main cog of the whole thing. She's also an incredibly fast swimmer." Despite being a defensive player, Quilala still finished third on the team with 60 goals and led the team with 61 steals. "Audrey is a phenomenal leader who has a lot of respect in the pool," Frenn said. What made the Granite Bay girls so tough to beat? "In all my years of coaching, this is the team that is the most cohesive," Frenn said. "They played for each other. Everyone had their role and did their role. Everyone enjoyed the practices and laughed and had a good time. They enjoyed pushing each other. "The strength of the team was our team speed. We were the fastest team in the section and like in basketball, speed kills in water polo. "Secondly, we made a point this year that it was all about defense. As the cliché goes, defense wins championships and everyone was locked in to playing good defense."