New division hinders hopes for repeat

Monache’s reign as the Division II water polo kings was short-lived.

That’s because they’re no longer in Division II anymore.

The Marauders, along with Golden West and El Diamante, were promoted — and essentially punished — to play in Division I after clinching the Valley championship in three of the past four years.

Now, Monache will play against schools twice its size with much more established feeder programs such as Buchanan and Clovis.

“I think we’re a little out-matched,” Monache coach Brandon Weaver said. “In essence, I think we’re being penalized for working hard to have a strong program. Although, with our finishes in Division II in the last five years, we were probably the most likely team to move up.”

Fair or not, there’s no doubting the Marauders have long bred the talent to play water polo, so success against the Valley’s biggest and best schools may not be as far-fetched as it sounds.

“Our goal is to first win a league championship,” Weaver said. “Then we’ll get in the playoffs and if we’re where we need to be and positioned comfortably and do things right, we can make a game of it and surprise somebody. All I know is I’ve got a strong group and we’re gelling really well right now.”

Monache lost nine seniors from its vaunted championship roster last year and returns only one starter — EYL first-team goalie Evan Thomas.

The senior is one of four varsity returning seniors, including drivers Colton Conway, Derek Walker and Kevin Cozart. Two incoming seniors — Justin Tucker and Michael Taylor — step up from the JV squad and may develop All-Star potential, Weaver said.

That core will be expected to replace the prolific starting production of Nic Lalanne and Devin Luis — also named to the EYL first team.

Weaver expects one player who didn’t see plenty of action in the postseason to step up and surprise most folks.

“I think Kevin’s worked really hard all summer and I suspect that he’ll shine,” Weaver said of Cozart, who will likely get the nod at a starting position due to experience.

Perhaps the departure that stings the most is EYL MVP hole set Marc Wolfe, who led the team in goals (102) and assists (67). Weaver hopes David Jacobs, an incoming junior who started at the same spot on JV, can adequately replace the All-Star.

“He’s come a long way,” Weaver said of Jacobs. “He’s a different hole set from Marc. He’s more traditional of what you’d think of at hole set.”

At the moment, four sophomores, two juniors and a freshman accompany the six seniors but Weaver said the roster is by no means finalized, let alone the starting rotation.

“We won’t worry about (the starters) until we get closer to league,” Weaver said. “We’ve got a long road ahead of us. We’re definitely a different team and we’re probably not where we were at this point last year.”

But Weaver projects this year’s squad will surpass last year’s in conditioning and strength. He’ll also tweak the playbook to adjust to this year’s crop.

“We’ll have a little different counter-attack and offense that will focus on our strengths and not put us in a bad situation on defense,” Weaver said. “We’ll probably run different defensive plays, too. The experience level, the body types — the whole gamut — is different. Remove three players from any team and it changes the dynamics of that team.”

Just like last year, Weaver intends to use the early preseason and tournament matches as a trial and error period to mold his team toward its potential.

“As far as I’m concerned, those (matches) are just practice for the league,” he said. “If we do well, great. If we don’t, I’m OK with that, but our focus is to have a really strong showing in league. I would expect nothing less from a team with a tradition like ours.”

Dynasty done?

Move to Division I means Valley title now goes through elite programs

2008 record: 28-3 (12-0 EYL)

Playoffs: Beat Golden West 11-8 to win Division II Valley title

Top Returners: Sr. Evan Thomas, sr. Colton Conway, sr. Kevin Cozart, sr. Derek Walker

Key Newcomers: jr. David Jacobs, jr. Justin Tucker, jr. Michael Taylor

Departures: Marc Wolfe, Nic Lalanne, Darren Roan, Devin Luis, Josh Woods

Breakout Player: Kevin Cozart