Las Lomas Boys Water Polo Preview: Knights Hope to Make Push to the Top

School: Las Lomas
Sport: Boys water polo
Coach: Steve Mann
2009 record: 19-7 (3-3 DFAL)
Key returners: Bryan Snyder senior; Matt Burke, senior; Ryan Sevilla senior, Alyosha Sinkevich, senior; Misha Sinkevich, junior.
Top newcomers: Connor Thompson, sophomore; Spencer Creed, freshman; Sam Toriggino, freshman.
Quote: "It's a great group of guys. I'm really excited to be working with these guys. I've known some of them for many years because I coach club water polo also." — Steve Mann.

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Steve Mann knows his Las Lomas High boys water polo team can perform at a high level this season.

Whether the Knights can play at the level of some of the top dogs in the North Coast Section this fall remains to be seen. After a run to the NCS quarterfinals last year, Mann would like to reach the championship this season.

Mann said it's tough to break into that top echelon of the water polo squads in the area, but if any year was the right time to bust up the pack, Mann thinks this may be the year.

"We got a pretty good team of players. This year we have an excellent starting six that have been playing year for a while," Mann said.

Those starters are headlined by team captain Bryan Snyder. The senior spent the summer playing with his club team at the Lamorinda Swim Club and performed above and beyond expectations.

His club team finished fourth in the S&R Junior Olympics in Los Angeles, a tournament in which they were expected to finish no better than tenth.

"He's a good team player, not a just huge goal scorer," Mann said. "He does a lot for us. He plays good defense, makes good passes and has a heck of a shot."

His best asset, according to Mann, is his total skill set and ability to play more than one position in the game.

"He can play whatever I want him to play so it's just going to depend on the game and match up," Mann said. "I'll put him where ever depending on who the opponent is."

Mann said that Snyder's supporting cast will make a bigt difference around the pool.

"The nice thing is that we have a lot of really good players around him too and that's going to make him even more deadly," Mann said.

Mann said the Sinkevich brothers, Alyosha and Misha, will be two of the more speeder swimmers in the water. He also said that six-foot, three-inch freshman goalie Spencer Creed will be a difference maker in the net.
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