DVC All-Sports Weekly Wrapup

DVC sports roundup

Vikings upend Harvard

The Diablo Valley College men's water polo team completed its trip to the Princeton Invitational in grand style with a 21-18 regular season win over Harvard (Harvard counts the game as an exibhition) on Sunday.

The back-and-forth contest had observers shaking their heads as they watched a community college team take down an Ivy League foe.

"It was nice," said DVC coach John Roemer, whose team beat the Crimson for the first time. "It made the four-hour drive back to (Washington International) Dulles (Airport) a lot easier."

After making a four-hour drive to Princeton on Friday, the Vikings opened with a 14-8 loss against No. 11 Princeton in an exhibition. Then DVC routed Iona 22-7.

On Saturday morning, the Vikings fell 12-10 against St. Francis College (Brooklyn, N.Y.), a team captained by ex-DVC competitor Bora Dimitrov of Novi Sad, Serbia. DVC led by three in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t hold off the Terriers. DVC next routed the Princeton club team.

With strong performances up and down the roster, the Vikings received excellent play against Harvard from Felipe Almeida of Brazil, Andras Telegdy of Hungary and Lucas Cirado Martinez of Spain.

"They're all happy with the Harvard game," Roemer said. "They go, 'Yeah, it's great we won, but they scored 18 goals on us.'"

DVC's strong showing in New Jersey followed its 3-1 record the week before in the Navy Open, highlighted by a 14-13 win over the Navy B team, marking Roemer's first win over Navy.

"The trip was good," Roemer said. "The kids are all bonding. I've got a really good idea of what we have; what our strengths and weaknesses are; and what we need to work on."

Women's water polo

The Vikings, who finished third in the state last year, opened the season impressively with wins over Santa Barbara 13-3 and Ventura 12-7 at Cuesta in the Central Coast Invitational.

The Vikings outscored Santa Barbara 8-2 in the second half to break it open.

Women's volleyball

The resilient Vikings rallied from 2-0 deficits to prevail 3-2 over both Ohlone and Solano in the DVC Classic on Friday.

Jamie Chow led the Vikings (3-1) with 28 assists in both contests.

Against previously unbeaten Ohlone, middle hitter Jade Lee had a team-high 12 kills, and Cailey Rocquemore had 10 kills. Sita Manoa added 19 assists.

What spurred the comeback against Ohlone?

"I think our passing and we were playing smarter," Chow said. "Our passing in the first match was a little off, our serve receive, but as we progressed it got better."

Against Solano, Noelle Vleisidis led the Vikings with 14 kills.

One thing is certain, when Lee hammers down a kill, the Vikings get excited.

"When she gets a kill, she gets a kill," Chow said. "Everyone is full of energy."

Vikings coach Jackie Ponciano-Babb said she made a lineup change in the third set of both matches, when she reminded players of "our team goals as well as our opponent's weaknesses," she said. "With that combination, we were able to find a rhythm as a team."

Ponciano-Babb said she is excited to have two good setters in Chow and Sita Manoa.

Chow, a Piedmont High graduate, has shown quickness on transition, a willingness to run a variety of plays and consistent ball-placement when setting, the coach said.

"Although Jamie hasn't played competitively in a couple of years since she graduated from high school, she has proven on the court that she can handle any given challenges," Ponciano-Babb said.

Women's soccer

Julia Curran scored the winner for the second straight game as the Vikings (2-1-1) beat Cabrillo 1-0 in Aptos on Friday. Curran also scored in a 1-0 win over Ohlone on Sept. 8 at Tak Fudenna Stadium in Fremont, marking the Vikings' first win of the season.

Curran also assisted Megan Coppa in a 1-1 draw against visiting Las Positas on Sept. 3.

DVC will conclude nonconference play with home matches against powerful Fresno City (4-0-1) on Tuesday and Chabot (2-2) on Friday. The Vikings open Big 8 play against Santa Rosa on Sept. 25.

The Vikings have allowed just two goals total in four matches.

Football

Drew Anderson was 31 for 51 passing for 330 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings (2-0) stayed unbeaten with a 26-10 win over Chabot in their home opener at Viking Stadium.

Marcus Armstrong-Brown and CJ Cornwell each had 10 receptions and a touchdown catch, combining for 179 yards receiving.

Dominic Paoletti, Anderson's former teammate at Miramonte, had 69 yards receiving. Brandon Brown had four field goals. Chris Mulumba, a transfer from Chabot, and Marc Anthony Hor each had seven tackles.

The Vikings will travel to Modesto Junior College (1-1), coming off a 51-41 loss to College of San Mateo, on Sept. 19.