Curnow named Valley League water polo player of the year

The Valley League boys water polo coaches met Nov. 13 to select their all-league teams and the group chose Fallbrook senior Tanner Curnow as the league's player of the year.

Curnow was joined on the first team by senior Chase Norfolk. The 2017 performance of senior Anthony Vazzana resulted in his selection to the second team. Honorable mention accolades were bestowed upon seniors Matthew Kuhn and Bryce Sammons.

"Overall the league was pretty even, so it was a good representation of all the teams on all three teams and I'm fortunate to get two on the first team," said Fallbrook coach Bill Richardson.

Fallbrook and Valley Center each had two players on the first team. Ramona, San Pasqual, and Escondido had one first-team player apiece. Classical Academy was the league's only team without a representative on the first team.

"It was clear at least one player on each team deserved to be recognized," Richardson said. "I was happy to get two representations, and it was also nice that these players were not just submitted by me but recognized by the other coaches."

Curnow scored 109 goals during the 2017 season. "He did it from a driver," Richardson said.

The total is the most in school history for any player at the driver position.

"We had talked about him being a 100-plus goal guy last season and he lived up to that," Richardson said.

Jacob Pril, who played the hole position for Fallbrook, scored 220 goals in 2008 and 187 goals in 2009, which rank second and fourth in CIF San Diego Section boys water polo history. (Pril holds the CIF record with 520 career goals.) Two other Fallbrook players scored at least 100 goals in a season since Richardson took over the boys program in 2011 – Chaz Sommer placed 106 shots into the net against Fallbrook's 2015 opponents, and Tyler Vanderstelt provided 101 goals for the 2011 Warriors. Sommer was a two-meter offensive player in 2015 and Vanderstelt was a utility player during the 2011 season.

Curnow was a three-year varsity player; he practiced with the varsity as a freshman in 2014 but did not play for that year's varsity team which won the CIF Division II championship.

"He played at a really high tempo," said Richardson of Curnow. "He has a knack for getting open and playing the ball."

The 2014 varsity included then-senior Tristan Curnow. Tanner Curnow made Fallbrook's 2015 varsity swim team as a freshman, but his brother chose to focus on academics that spring so the Curnow brothers never competed for Fallbrook High School at the same time. The youngest Curnow child, Chiara, is currently a tenth-grader at Fallbrook High School and is a diver for the Warriors' girls swim team. Tristan Curnow is now a student at Point Loma Nazarene University, which does not have aquatics. Both Curnow brothers started their water polo careers with the Tribe club.

The Curnow family has lived in the Lake Rancho Viejo area for 28 years. Tanner Curnow was born at Pomerado Hospital in Poway but is a lifelong Fallbrook resident who attended Bonsall Elementary School and Sullivan Middle School prior to Fallbrook High School. He qualified for the CIF swim meet as a sophomore in 2016 and as a junior in 2017.

"I thought it was fabulous for him," Richardson said of Curnow receiving the Valley League player of the year honor.

Last year the Valley League coaches did not have honorable mention recognition. Curnow was named to the all-league second team and 2016 senior Declan Harrison was Fallbrook's only player on the first team. In 2015 Harrison was Fallbrook's only non-senior on the first team and Norfolk was on the second team. During 2016 Norfolk shared goalkeeping duties while also playing as a driver and did not have enough stature at either position to be recognized. This year Norfolk scored 60 goals from the driver position and made 50 saves during his 18 quarters as a goalkeeper.

"He's a good defender, has a great shot, and he can play goalie," Richardson said of Norfolk. "Chase is a team captain and the first guy on the team to want to help. He came out of the field where he wanted to play to help us out in the cage."

Fallbrook's 18-10 overall season record includes a 5-0 league mark. The Warriors wrapped up the championship with an Oct. 25 home win against Ramona, which entered the game with a 3-1 record. A Ramona win would have created a three-way tie for first place between Fallbrook, Ramona, and Valley Center. Norfolk played the field during regulation against Ramona, and when the Bulldogs scored with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter the game was tied at 11-11 and the lack of subsequent scoring during regulation led to two mandatory three-minute overtime periods. Norfolk was Fallbrook's goalie during overtime play.

Fallbrook had a 12-11 lead at the end of the first overtime. During that period Norfolk blocked a five-meter penalty shot to preserve the Fallbrook lead. Norfolk allowed a goal during the second overtime, when he was defending the shallow end of the pool, but the game ended as a 14-12 Fallbrook victory to give the Warriors the league championship.

Norfolk was also Fallbrook's goalkeeper in the Warriors' 7-5 CIF Division I playoff loss to Del Norte, which was Fallbrook's only post-season game this year.

Vazzana was a two-meter defender. "Did a great job all season neutralizing most teams' two-meter players," Richardson said.

Vazzana personally only had 23 goals this year, but Fallbrook was able to score other times on counterattacks. "He was instrumental in helping that happen," Richardson said.

Sammons, who scored 26 goals during the 2017 season, was primarily a two-meter offensive player but also played two-meter defense during the season. Kuhn, who was a driver, scored 20 goals.

Fallbrook's five all-league players are among the 10 seniors the 2017 team had. "Next year could be a pretty interesting year," Richardson said.