The Mariners girls’ water polo team came on strong for the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Their play put them into the finals Saturday against the No. 1 ranked Stevenson Pirates, who won 6-3.
In the playoffs, the Mariners defeated Santa Catalina, 16-7, and topped Harker School 9-6.
In the Santa Cruz County Athletic League, with the always tough Soquel — undefeated in league and ranked 8th in the state — and the challenge of Santa Cruz, 6-2 in league, Aptos finished third with a 4-4 record and 16-12 overall.
The Mariners are relatively young.
Some MaxPreps leaderboard stats:
- Fiona Carey, a senior, has 92 goals leading the league and 17 assists.
- Adelaide Friedley, a sophomore, has 45 goals and 31 assists.
- Bellame Breen, a sophomore, has 31 goals and 32 assists.
- Madi Knudsen, a sophomore, has 28 goals and 21 assists.
- Scarlet Gleitsman-Miller, a junior, has 16 goals and 21 assists.
- Adriana Santillano, a junior, has 17 goals and 25 assists.
The goalie is a freshman, Mary Suarez-Abraham, who has 233 saves and 35 assists.
The water polo team is coached by Cory Murphy.
TOP PHOTO: Cory Murphy, Bellame Breen, Madi Knudsen, Mary Suarez-Abraham (back row), Avery Hadland, Charlie Christie (back row), Scarlet Gleitsman-Miller (back row), Adriana Santillano, Rylie Knudsen (on knees), Grace Martin (back row), Fiona Carey, Natalia Vowles, Rose Lockwood, Adelaide Friedley and Kenadi Chitwood.