Splash Forward

Despite graduating half its championship roster, Miramonte boys water polo hasn’t skipped a beat.

By CHACE BRYSON | Editor

Calmly treading water near the center of the pool, Jack Fellner held the ball at an arm’s length away from his defender and waited. 

He watched as his Miramonte boys water polo teammate Charlie Wiser thrashed about attempting to gain position against his San Ramon Valley defender approximately six feet in front of the goal.  

Wiser thrashed, and Fellner waited. 

And just when it appeared that the defender guarding Wiser had gained an advantage, Fellner flicked his wrist and sent the ball on a slight lob toward his teammate. As the ball reached its apex, Wiser’s right hand shot out of the water. He still had his back turned to the goal. 

As the ball hit the water, Wiser scooped the ball with his right hand and in one fluent motion turned his torso and fired the ball into the right corner of the goal. The San Ramon Valley goaltender never even grazed the ball on its way in. 

None of this surprised Fellner.

“When you have someone like Charlie, it’s just awesome,” Fellner said. “You can rely on him so much. You just know that if you get the ball to him, it’s either going to be a kick-out or a shot, every time.”

It’s usually a shot. It’s usually a goal. 

The Fellner to Wiser connection isn’t a new concept for Miramonte. It’s also nothing that San Ramon Valley hadn’t seen before the Matadors, and that includes the goal that decided the North Coast Section Division I championship match last November. 

After two extra periods had been played with the score tied 7-7, the title match went to a sudden-death period that ended as Fellner floated a pass to Wiser — this time out on the left wing — who scooped and fired the golden goal on a line to the opposite corner of the net. The win marked the program’s 12th NCS title, and denied the Wolves a chance at their first. 

San Ramon Valley had entered their Sept. 19 nonleague showdown at Miramonte hoping to gain a bit of revenge and potentially gain the upper hand for when the two teams are certain to be seeded for the NCS Tournament that begins in early November. The Fellner-to-Wiser goal gave the Matadors a 3-1 lead that they would build to 6-1 before cruising to an 11-6 win. Wiser finished with two goals and an assist. Fellner had three goals and two assists. 

“Both of them can do whatever they want in the pool,” Miramonte senior goalkeeper Drew Holland said of Fellner and Wiser after the Sept. 19 victory. “It’s awesome to have them in front of me all match.”

Fellner, Wiser and Holland comprise what’s left of the starting seven from last season’s championship team. That group was senior-dominated — including not just four starters, but up to four key substitutes — and the graduation of that class left some questions marks for the team that would return in 2012.

James Lathrop, who has coached the Matadors to six NCS titles in his first eight years at the helm, believes things could not have fallen into place better to start his ninth season. 

 “I think we can play with anyone,” the coach said. “I think we do have the talent to do that. Really, it’s no different than any other season in that we’re still learning and figuring out roles, where our depth is, and who contributes off the bench.”

And having an All-American, four-year varsity player like Wiser who can lead the way? Well, that helps, too. 

“It’s always nice to have those type of guys come back,” Lathrop said. “Charlie always prides himself on being a team player and he’s excellent on defense and distributing the ball. We’re going to ask him to take on more of a scoring role this season, and that’s something he’s very capable of.”

With Wiser and Fellner — who Lathrop labeled as the team’s “most prolific scorer and a very great shooter” — leading the attack, the Matadors seem to be in good hands offensively. What makes the team even more potent is it has an equally-gifted senior leader as the backbone of the defense as well. 

As much as San Ramon Valley tired of trying to stop Fellner and Wiser, they undoubtedly left the Miramonte pool just as frustrated by Holland. 

The Matadors goalie posted 11 blocks in the contest, including at least three that were uncontested shots due to missed defensive assignments. 

“It’s great to have someone in the cage who we know that if we make a mistake there’s a very small chance that it’s going to go in,” Wiser said after the match. “He’s basically like a brick wall back there. He saves our butts so many times when we let down our guard. It’s good to have that in the back of your mind that if you do slip up, he’s got your back.”

 The win over San Ramon Valley improved the Matadors’ record to 3-2 on the young season. It split its first four matches of the year during a sixth-place finish at the highly-competitive Santa Barbara Invitational earlier in the month.

Beginning the season on a trip like that proved highly beneficial for a team that needed some time to establish chemistry and identity. 

“It’s a tourney that has some of the top teams in the state, so we felt really good about what we did,” Lathrop said. “And they were all close games. Early in the season, to be tested in that way, made it a really good experience to start off the year. … We also found that we had a lot of guys who could contribute in any given game.”

Among the players that have established themselves, key newcomers to the rotation are senior Nick Solit, juniors Clay Smudsky, Nick Coufal and Tyler Kirchberg, and sophomore Jack Conner. Conner and Coufal each scored twice in the win over San Ramon Valley. Kirchberg also had a goal and two assists. 

“It’s been good watching the younger players develop into key roles this year,” Fellner said. “I’d say we have four to five different guys who are really stepping up their games.” 

Fellner has been especially surprised by Conner. 

“I can’t say a bad thing about him,” he said of the sophomore attacker. “When I played with him this summer, he wasn’t where he’s at now. He’s really come a long way.”

Miramonte now obviously moves forward with the proverbial target on its back. But with 12 of the 17 NCS titles since 1995, the Matadors are no stranger to being the hunted. 

While the team will travel to a few more high-profile tournaments outside of the North Coast Section bubble, Miramonte’s next big barometer match in terms of a local challenge will be De La Salle on Oct. 2. The Spartans are the only other program with multiple NCS championships to their credit (they have four), and a win for Miramonte would go a long way in solidifying the top seed when the playoffs arrive on Nov. 1.

“I just really think this year is a special year and I want to go out on a good note.” Wiser said. “The biggest thing will be to keep our focus. If we do that, we’ll get where we want to be.”