After coming out with a 14-5 win against College of San Mateo Nov. 1, the Santa Rosa Junior College women’s water polo team faced Diablo Valley College in the first Big 8 Conference game Nov. 8 in Pleasant Hill.

After a tough fight, SRJC won the game with a close score of 10-9 and secured a spot in the North’s top six, guaranteeing them a bid in the Northern California Championships Nov. 15 and 16 in San Mateo.

Center Michelle Pollastrani and field players Holly Cloud, Jillian Patalano and Nicole Groat all contributed goals.

“Overall, I’m excited that we bumped ourselves up in the overall ranking,” said team captain Brooke Wolford.

Next the Bear Cubs faced American River College Nov. 9, where they suffered a 15-1 loss.  SRJC field player Lexi Baldwin scored the only goal.

Though the next game against Fresno City resulted in a close fight, SRJC lost 8-7.

SRJC went into the conference tournament seeded fifth.

After a tough weekend at the Big 8 tournament, the Bear Cubs  readied themselves for the NorCal championships this weekend.

“We know we have to bring something new, something that they have not prepared to defend in order to win this game,” said head coach Jill McCormick.

“I think we’re just going to play the game of water polo purely, and go out there and do exactly what we’ve trained for all season, which is to play and have a good time,” Wolford said.

The Bear Cubs finished the first day of the championships with a 6-2 win against Fresno City, advancing to the semi-finals Nov. 16.

The Bear Cubs faced American River College in their first semi-final game, where they lost 2-11.   They then faced Foothill College vying for third, but lost 4-7.

SRJC finished this season fourth in the north with a final record of 12-14 for the season.