The persistent drum beat in this thread is label your teams.. “A” team, “B” team. Why?
Maybe seeding errors are easier to catch? Dons B team is no where near 3rd seed here.
If Stanford beat SJX by a score of 18-11. How is SJX #6?
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I’m wondering what Lamorinda did to jump up that high. They haven’t even played Stanford this year.
I think you’re right. I do have Stanford too low. While I missed the Stanford-SJX game, I’m not shocked by that score. The kid playing center defender for Stanford 12A is seriously good. Any team overly reliant on a physically dominant center, as SJX is, better have a back-up plan or they are in for a bad day.
@gumby , I also think you’re right. Lamorinda is ranked a few spots too high, but I do like the way that team plays.
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No matter how the teams are labeled—whether by colors,numbers or letters —most people involved in the sport can recognize the different groups simply by watching who is in the water. I feel at times some clubs choose colors over letters or numbers so egos dont get bruised and I’m not talking about the kids ego..
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What games are folks excited for this weekend? Hoping to see some great games between Nor Cal/So Cal and East vs West!
The first round, the highest seed should win all the brackets except Davis has a chance against Patriot, and the Tsunami San Clemente game is almost a coin flip.
The second round I’m excited to see North Irvine vs SJ Express. Also CC United vs Mission, although mission is almost certainly going to win, I’m just curious how close CCU can keep it. The other one I’m curious about is Stanford vs the winner of Tsunami and SC
My guess is the finals are Mission and Greenwich with Mission on top. The bronze will go to the winner of N probably Stanford or Sc/tsunami
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I call 3 upsets in the first round:
I think SC beats Tsunami.
LJU should take their bracket I think.
Santa Barbara might upset the SD Dons B team (should not be 3rd seed).
Games in the N and P bracket are some of the most interesting for me. Assumptions met, Stanford vs LJU will be a good game I think. Interested to see if Newport can top the P bracket.
I think your prediction on final is accurate, interested to see how Mission stacks up in the East vs West Showdown.
The SD Dons 12U orange marmalade team will definitely be one I watch!
Heads up for those doing SD County Cup this weekend:
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will close all lanes of Interstate 805 (I-805) Northbound from State Route (SR-52) to Miramar Road beginning Friday, May 1, 2026, at 9 p.m. to Monday, May 4, 2026, at 5 a.m., for construction/maintenance purposes. The motoring public is encouraged to avoid the area and utilize alternate routes of travel during this time. Additional information regarding this planned closure / construction project can be found on the following Caltrans website link: Northbound I-805 Closed at SR-52 Resumes May 1 – 4 | Caltrans
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I was wrong about LJU and Santa Barbara (though the Santa Barbara game was quite good).
ORWP also surprised me by going to a tie!
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Greenwich 12U just took the gold beating Mission in the SD Cup.
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It was an excellent game!!!
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There was definitely some good 12u water polo games this weekend.
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Would appreciate a detailed analysis of the game from someone who watched it. Interested in how Greenwich was able to beat Mission. Thank you in advance!
Greenwich 12U put the ball in the net more times than Mission 12U.
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The old fashion way to win games 
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One of Mission’s players could be seen sitting on the bench with a sling/cast on his arm that was not on his arm during games on Friday. I think any team struggles losing a key player in the middle of a tournament and although Mission looked pretty good in the games leading up to the final, Greenwich was able to expose the fresh wound through a solid defensive effort holding Mission to 3 points while scoring 5. Mission led in the first half, both teams played really well but Greenwich was the one celebrating as if they had just won JOs.
Late edit: a lot of credit needs to be given to the Greenwich goalie. His influence on the game could not be overstated.
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It is the privileged joy of being an underdog. While Greenwich has become more competitive with the top California teams over the years, it still has not built the pedigree of winning medals in major tournaments. SD Cup is one of those tournaments for this age group. If I recall correctly, this is only the second gold in the history of the club across all age groups. The only other gold was in 14U boys Futures Super Finals in 2021. That year, California limited JO participation to California residents, talk about the politics of water polo and the craziness of COVID, and that team did not have the opportunity to prove its value on the biggest stage: JOs.
For all of you 12U parents, savor these moments. The age-group water polo years move too fast.
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No insult intended. Having the coach jump in the water is a classic waterpolo celebration that I have really only observed at JOs, thus my comment