After finishing second in league play and losing in the second round of the CIF playoff to Schurr last season, the Titan water polo team has returned much of the talent from last years’ team, only losing two players overall. Led by seniors Daniel Chen and Howard Huang, as well as juniors Nathan Chan and Diego Garcia, the Titans come into this season as favorites to win their first Rio Hondo League championship since 1987.
In their first six games this year, the Titans only played at home once. “The bus rides really allowed us to bond as a team,” Garcia said. And the bond these bus rides have provided translated into success in the pool. In their first two games, the Titans beat Flintridge Prep 20-15 and dominated Glendale 15-3. The team then returned home for one game against the Falcons of Crescenta Valley, and after a back and forth game, the Titans pulled away late, surviving for an 11-9 win. This 3-0 start was an exact replica of the performance from a season ago.
Following a win over Hoover, the Titans lost their first game of the season against a really strong Poly team. “We did everything we could that game,” Chan said. “Ultimately Poly just played the better game.” Despite the loss being only by two goals, this one seemed to sting, and with a revenge game against Schurr around the corner, the Titans were energized to beat the Spartans. And beat the Spartans they indeed did, winning heftily by eleven goals. “It was nice to beat them after last year,” Chan added.
As league play approaches, there appears to be no team that can outplay the Titans. Temple City lost nearly all of their starters from last year, South Pasadena and La Canada are both in rebuilding phases currently, and Monrovia and Blair’s teams typically are non-factors in league play. As of Thursday, September 21st, the Titans are the only team in the Rio Hondo League that can claim a winning record, with the closest team to the Titans’ 5-1 record being Temple City at 4-4. Can the Titans bring home their first league title in over three decades? The odds are saying yes.
