Community Sports

Sports Beat | Gig Harbor water polo takes a step up in competition level

The Gig Harbor (5-2) boys water polo team have raced out to an impressive record while playing in Division I, the state’s top water polo level.

The Tides played in Division II the last few years, but moved up this season based on their finish in 2024.

The Tides have already won games against some of the state’s top teams, including Mercer Island, Kennedy, Newport and Bellevue. They lost against powerhouse Curtis and Roosevelt.

First team all-conference player Joel Carpmail, a junior, leads the Tides in goal scoring, followed closely by freshman Whitaker Filbey and junior Charlie Davis. Carpmail’s brother Vance, a freshman, is the team’s starting center.

Joel Carpmail is the leading scorer for the Gig Harbor water polo team. Photo by Zoey Nichols

Nine of the Tides’ 17 players are freshman. Coach Alana Ponce, a former Gig Harbor High School star who also played in college, is excited about a bright future for the program.

Gig Harbor also returns an all-league selection in the cage. Sam Petrie uses long arms, quick reflexes and an explosive scissor kick to deny plenty of opponents’ shots.

Ponce singled out Jared Nelson as another key player to the team’s defense.

Nelson “is always stealing the ball and reads the game very well,” Ponce said. “He’s still learning how to be an offensive threat but defensively … he’s a menace.”

Ponce feels like her team has enough talent to make a deep postseason run if “they can keep their mental game up.”

Gig Harbor plays its next two games on the road before hosting Bellevue in a rematch at 7 p.m. Oct. 14.

Gig Harbor goalie Sam Petrie. Photo by Zoev Nichols

Seahawks start league play with a win

The Peninsula Seahawks (2-2, 1-0 Puget Sound League) only led their game against Capital on Sept. 26 for 22 seconds, but they were the right 22 seconds.

Peninsula scored in the final seconds of the fourth quarter in Olympia to knock off Capital 10-9.

The Seahawks trailed 9-0 midway through the third quarter before Peninsula quarterback Lucas Wiseman led a drive that resulted in a 25-yard Talen McDonnell field goal.

Jake Martin leads Peninsula in rushing yards. Photo by Bryce Carithers

The teams traded defensive stops until the final drive of the game. Wiseman fired a 15-yard pass to junior running back Thomas Marzano, who made a tough catch near the goal line with a little over a minute to go.

After losing five yards on first down, Seahawks head coach Clay Morrow and offensive coordinator Jim Fairfield dialed up a beauty on second down. Wiseman, lined up in the pistol formation, faked an inside handoff before firing a bullet to senior wide receiver Trever Bingham for the tying touchdown.

Bingham sold the slant route to the middle before spinning back toward the sideline, where Wiseman dotted a pass to his outside shoulder. The pass was just inches out of the reach of a diving Cougar defensive back, who looked like he just took a gut punch from Mike Tyson as the Seahawks sprinted to mob Bingham in the end zone.

With 20 seconds to go, McDonnell drilled the all-important extra point for a huge road win.

Peninsula hosts North Thurston in another Nisqually Division game at Roy Anderson Field at 7 p.m. Oct. 3.

Puget Sound League Nisqually Division standings as of Oct. 2, according to pugetsoundleague.org

Tides hang with No. 5 Lincoln

Gig Harbor (2-2, 0-1 PSL) dropped a hard-fought 39-29 loss to Lincoln, ranked No. 5 in Class 3A by MaxPreps, on Sept. 26.

The Abes are big, physical and fast, but the Tides earned respect with a strong second half.

Gig Harbor has a pivotal game in Tacoma against Silas (3-1, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Oct. 3.

Look for the Tides to run the ball with their Wing T offense that is hard for a defense to prepare for and simulate in only four days of practice time.

Puget Sound League Narrows Division football standings as of Oct. 2, according to pugetsoundleague.org

New ace for Peninsula tennis

Both local boys tennis teams have found this season to be as challenging as hitting a running backhand down the line. Each team is currently sitting near the middle of their respective division standings.

But Peninsula’s future looks bright with underclassmen playing in the first and second singles spots. The Seahawks lost to one of the conference’s top teams, Mount Tahoma, 4-1 on Oct. 2 but it was not without a considerable fight.

Top Peninsula singles player David Ghazaryan was impressive in his 2-6, 6-1, 4-6 loss to T-Bird ace Merlin Ly and probably could have won with more aggression to the net.

Peninsula freshman David Ghazaryan serves against Mount Tahoma. Photo by Dennis Browne

Ghazaryan, a freshman, transferred to Peninsula this season after immigrating from Armenia and was clearly the better player in the second set. He displayed powerful ground strokes with his looping forehand and a consistent two-hand back hand that routinely returned balls only a few inches above the net.

His serve was on point and his overall court coverage was impressive as he anticipated Ly’s shots and returned them for winners during the 6-1 second set.

But Ghazaryan lost momentum during a 15-minute break between the second and third sets. Ly changed his strategy and started returning softer, high-bouncing shots and waited for the freshman to make aggressive unforced errors.

Ghazaryan rushed to return those shots with fast-paced balls that sailed long, leading to his 6-4 defeat in the third set. Ly controlled the tempo and Ghazaryan stayed on the baseline and rarely approached the net.

Ly escaped with a 6-4 victory in the third and final set.

Nevertheless, Ghazaryan’s ground strokes were impressive and he displayed the goods that should allow him to make some noise in the league and district tournaments.

Peninsula No. 2 singles player Hunter Kim, a junior, displayed power and effective strokes in his 6-2, 6-4 win over Jesse Nguyen. Kim flashed some impressive skills that included court quickness and a rocket first serve to overwhelm his opponent.

Kim also showed his mental toughness in a tied second set, forcing many points to continue even though he was serving from the advantage out position. He locked in to gain the advantage and close out a well-played match.

The Seahawks were defeated in all three doubles matches without winning a set but did have bright spots for a young team that lost double digit seniors from a season ago.

The Peninsula doubles teams have a couple weeks to improve before facing Gig Harbor, which is also rebuilding after losing their top two singles players to graduation.

The Tides are 1-3, an unfamiliar position for a program accustomed to being near the top of the old South Sound League standings. But the new Puget Sound League includes state heavyweights Bellarmine and Silas as well as Capital and River Ridge.

The two local teams play each other at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Gig Harbor High.

Soccer teams atop their tables

The local girls soccer teams each lead their divisions of the Puget Sound League.

Gig Harbor (8-0-1, 4-0) is so explosive that the Lincoln Abes decided to forfeit rather than play the Tides on Sept. 30. One can hardly fault the decision. Last year, Gig Harbor led 8-0 over Lincoln in the first eight minutes of the game. Neither team was in much of a mood to celebrate after that one.

Puget Sound League Narrows Division standings as of Oct. 3, according to pugetsoundleague.org

The Thunderbirds of Mount Tahoma were game to face the Tides a couple of days later, on Oct. 2. The final score looked like something from the other football: Gig Harbor 13, Mount Tahoma 0.

Gig Harbor, ranked No. 2 in the Washington 3A classification, should get a better test at No. 5 Central Kitsap (9-1, 3-1) in Silverdale at 7 p.m. Oct. 7. The winner will lead the Narrows Division.

Karin Heikkila and Sage Sturrock celebrate after a Gig Harbor goal. Photo by Bryce Carithers

Peninsula (4-3-1, 3-0-1) leads the Nisqually Division after wins over the second- and third-place teams in the division: 3-1 over Timberline and 5-0 over River Ridge. The Seahawks also played to a scoreless tie at Bellarmine on Sept. 29.

The Seahawks play at Lakes at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at Harry Lang Stadium.

The Puget Sound League Nisqually Division standings as of Oct. 3, according to pugetsoundleague.org