Girls Water Polo: James Logan is Surging Like Never Before

No one could have guessed a start like this for the girls water polo team.

Not even Coach Martin Munoz.

The Colts, who have had a week off to relish their 9-0 record, are off to their best start in school history.

“I’ve been coaching on and off for 10 years. Young teams don’t respond like this,” Munoz said.

Half of the team is made up of sophomores, including Tayler Peters, who plays one of the most important positions in the pool — goalkeeper.

A softball player in the spring, Peters grew from 5-foot-4 to 5-8 over the summer.

“She could be the best athlete to come through the program,” Munoz said. “She’s a big reason for where we are. She can throw a pass the length of the pool on a dime. Most women goalies can’t throw farther than half the tank.”

She’s also a solid student with a 4.0 grade point average.

The other sophomores include Amy Tobertson, Geneva Foronda, Carol Lee, Erica Bauer and Kayla Belich.

“It’s very encouraging to have six sophomores playing at this level,” Munoz said.

The seniors include Caroline Sandri, Jasmine Zaldivar and Amber Kerawala.

A hole set, Sandri has come a long way and is an inspiration to all underclassmen, Munoz said. She was second team all-Mission Valley Athletic League player last year.

“I keep emphasizing (to the rest of the team) how far she came,” Munoz said. “As a freshman, she could barely swim and now she’s one of the top players in the section.”

Some of Logan’s wins have — without a doubt — turned some heads. Logan plays in what is considered by many in the section a weak MVAL.

Yet the Colts have posted impressive wins in non-league play. They beat Heritage and Granada, both of which made the championship game of the Newark Tournament last week. They claimed wins over traditionally strong East Bay Athletic League schools Livermore and Amador Valley.

“We’ve won tight games and come back from deficits,” Munoz said. “Those are things not characteristic with young teams.”

And now the Colts turn their attention to league play, where they finished second-to-last a year ago.

On Tuesday they have one of their toughest league tests when they host defending MVAL champion Washington at 5:15 p.m.

The Huskies went 10-0 last year. The other tough team in league is Mission San Jose.

“Washington and Mission are clearly the favorites in the league and have been for the past five years,” Munoz said. “Win or lose, it starts by playing competitive games against those teams.”