On the first day of the Battle at the Beach Tournament at Long Beach City College on Friday, the Cerritos College women's water polo team split their two games. The Falcons, ranked #2 in the state, opened with a 6-2 win over Grossmont College and then was defeated by #4-ranked Fullerton, 14-11. Cerritos (22-3) will now face #6-ranked Orange Coast College and then a game against either Ventura College or Palomar College, depending on what happens in both games.

In the win over the Griffins, the Falcons opened up a 3-0 lead and used their solid defense to maintain that advantage throughout the game. Sophomore Katherine Gabayeron (Cerritos HS) scored the third goal of the game and then added a second tally with :43 seconds left to close out the scoring. As for freshman Jasmine Villalpando (Montebello HS), she scored in the first and fourth quarter, while the duo of freshmen Bianca Serrano (Cerritos HS) and Angelica Hernandez (El Rancho HS) led the defense with four steals each. Sophomore goalkeeper Sharon Ku (Cerritos HS) posted 11 saves in the win and contributed a pair of steals.

Cerritos and the Hornets traded goals in the first period, until a 5-1 second quarter gave Fullerton a lead they would not relinquish. A Villalpando goal with 2:03 got the team to within 13-11, but could not get any closer and suffered the loss. Villalpando, sophomore Yuridia Vela (Schurr HS) and freshman Carla Harvey (Potomac Falls, VA HS) led the team with two goals each, while the top scorers, Gabayeron and Hernandez, were limited to just one goal each. Ku finished with eight saves, three steals and one assist.

Photo by Daryl Peterson