The team captains of the women’s water polo team are feeling the surreal moment of the last practice of the season, but are ready to compete in the South Coast Conference Championships this weekend starting Friday, Nov. 8.

“It’s kind of sad, because as a sophomore you know it’s your last practice and you might not have another opportunity to play for this team or play again,” Captain and attacker Teresa Zuniga said.

Co-Captain and center Catie Tuning saw the positives from playing out the regular season and said, “I feel happy and sad. I feel happy that I get to play with the girls, play for (head coach) Sergio (Macias) and all the experiences that we have had this year have been great no matter what our record is in the end.”

However, the captains won’t let their emotions get the best of them as they prepare for the first game of the tournament against Rio Hondo College on Friday, Nov. 8.

Zuniga feels that her team is on a mission to outplay their number four seed and said, “We just want to prove that we are a better team than people think we are. We are going to come in strong and show them we are the better team of this conference.”

Head coach Sergio Macias thinks that getting off to a hot start is key to getting a good start in the tournament.

“Against Rio Hondo (College), we have to set the tone early in the game and get them discouraged, that way I’ll be able to play people off the bench to give our starters some rest for the second game of the day versus (Mt. San Antonio).”

Cerritos College’s dropped to the fourth seed after its 4-3 loss to Chaffey College on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Macias saw an off balance performance from his team against Chaffey College, “It was a great defensive battle on both ends. We didn’t take advantage of the easy opportunities we had against Chaffey (College),” he said.

Even with the loss, the women’s team was able to close out the regular season, winning nine of the last 13 games and finishing with a 5-3 conference record.

Tuning used the last practice as a final chance to hone the team’s skills for the conference tournament.

“Shoot with pressure on you, work on our defense, doing both at the same time. We’ll have the defense playing really hard and have the offense finish it up,” she said.