Cuesta Women's Water Polo opened the second day of the Central Coast Tournament against Western State Conference rival and defending CCCAA State Champion Santa Barbara City, before wrapping up the weekend with a win over Fresno City.  The Cougars, who were also a playoff team in 2022, and the Vaqueros battled to a scoreless tie in the initial period, however as the two rivals continued to thwart the other's offensive plan the breaks began to show.  The Vaqueros scored the first tally with just over three minutes left in the half, but on the Cougars' next possession Freshman Maddie Corrigan answered on a power-play.  Both teams scored another goal in the final minute, but Santa Barbara got one more shot off at the buzzer to take a 3-2 lead into the intermission.  The Cougars' Freshman Driver Hannah Kempf knotted the game back up after the opening sprint, however the Vaqueros went on a six-goal run to pull away for the eventual victory, 10-4.  The Cougars improved to 2-2 in the tournament by beating Fresno City, 8-5, in the event's finale.  Cuesta, despite playing its fifth game of the weekend, endured another scoreless first quarter before outscoring the Rams, 3-1, in the second quarter.  All State Driver Chloe Porter scored a team season-high five goals to ensure the victory, including two in the second quarter to kickstart the Cougars' attack.  Cuesta built a 6-1 lead with just over a minute left in the 3rd quarter and cruised to a comfortable victory, 8-5.  The Cougars finished their season-opening weekend with a 2-3 record and plenty of promise for the season ahead.  

Now that the Cougars have begun their 2023 schedule they will be on the road until the end of the month.  The Cougars will play in the West Valley's Nyquist Tournament next weekend in Saratoga, before travelling to Aptos for Cabrillo's Bockman Memorial the next weekend.  Cuesta's Poloists return home for the 24th Mechanics Bank Tournament on the final weekend of September (29-30).