West Valley College Women's Water Polo Wins State & Makes History

On November 20, 2021, at 3:10pm, West Valley College athletic history was made. For the first time in school history, and only the second time ever for a NorCal team, West Valley won the CCCAA Women's Water Polo State Championship. The 6-5 thriller over Santa Barbara was the result of the amazing work ethic through two challenging years by 12 student-athletes, two assistant coaches and one head coach, who accomplished something no coach in the history of CCCAA water polo had ever done.

That coach, Erika Vargas, became the first female coach to win a water polo state championship in the 25-year history of the women's tournament. In four short years, Vargas has led the Vikings to four consecutive undefeated Coast Conference crowns, two NorCal titles, a state third-place finish (2019) and the 2021 state championship. Multiple players - from Raquel de Pinho at San Diego St. to Nadja Novakovic at Long Beach and Asya Cardenas-Miranda at Cal St. Monterey Bay - have moved on to the next level, both in athletics and academics.

Vargas said recently after the Viking title, "You could hear the glass ceiling shattering Saturday." Indeed, in a year where many were simply happy to be back in the water playing again, West Valley College and the entire CCCAA women's water polo world are thankful for Erika Vargas.