Dowden to play water polo at APU

Paris Dowden will need to earn her berth on the Azusa Pacific University water polo roster, but the 2021 Fallbrook High School graduate has received an invitation to play for the Cougars.

"I'm just excited to see what college polo is like and continue my journey in water polo because I enjoy it so much," Dowden said.

"I think it's fantastic. It's a great opportunity for her," said Fallbrook coach Sean Redmond.

"I'm excited for her for that," Redmond said. "I'm excited for the program that we've been able to put somebody in that position."

Dowden was also considering Point Loma Nazarene University, but that school does not have aquatics. "I wanted to play water polo, so I thought APU was a good choice," she said.

"I think they're getting an individual who is very talented but also very passionate and willing to learn and improve," Redmond said.

Azusa Pacific is in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Dowden is a lifelong Fallbrook resident who was born at Camp Pendleton Hospital and attended Bonsall Elementary School and Sullivan Middle School prior to her four years at Fallbrook High School. She made both the water polo varsity and the varsity swim team as a freshman.

The league water polo coaches select the all-league players for that sport. Dowden was on the Valley League second team as a freshman and was a first-team choice as a sophomore and junior. As a senior she was not only on the first team but was also selected as the Valley League player of the year.

Any swimmer or relay team who wins the league meet is automatically on the all-league first team while the second-place swimmers and relay teams receive all-league second team status. As a freshman in 2018, Dowden won the 100-yard freestyle race at the Valley League championship swim meet and was also part of the winning 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay teams.

At the 2019 league meet, Dowden won the 100-yard breaststroke, was second in the 100-yard freestyle, and was on the second-place 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay quartets. No league meet was held in 2020 due to the coronavirus shutdown. Dowden and her younger sister were both on the winning 200-yard freestyle relay team in this year's league meet.

Dowden is the fourth of five children, all girls, and all five have played water polo and swam for the Warriors. Cassie Dowden graduated from Fallbrook High School in 2010, Kierstin Dowden graduated in 2014, and Taylor Dowden graduated in 2016. Ava Dowden was a 2020-21 freshman.

Paris Dowden did not participate in any organized sports other than swimming or water polo prior to high school or while at Fallbrook High School. Dowden was 10 when she joined the Fallbrook Associated Swim team and began playing water polo when she was in seventh grade.

FAST practices at the Fallbrook High School pool, but the Fallbrook Union High School District did not allow use of the pool for practice or competition during the coronavirus shutdown. Dowden was among the FAST players who joined Pacific Polo, which practiced at Rancho Bernardo High School.

"She's been exposed to a lot of different types of coaches and different styles. She's learned to adjust," Redmond said.

Redmond considers his players, other than his goalkeeper, to be utility players rather than defined by one position. Dowden was Fallbrook's primary sprinter. "I did swim, and that really helped with endurance and sprinting in water polo," Dowden said.

The 5'4" Dowden likely is too small to lead a collegiate attack. "I'm more of like a driver," she said.

Dowden was a team captain for both the water polo team and the swim team as a junior, and she was also a captain of those two teams as a senior. The San Diego High School Sports Association annually honors a male athlete and a female athlete from each San Diego Section member school as a Senior Student-Athlete, and Dowden was Fallbrook's female Senior Student-Athlete for 2020-21. That award is based on athletic, leadership, and academic criteria.

Fallbrook's 2020-21 water polo season ended with a loss in the CIF Division I quarterfinals. The Warriors' first-round game June 8 against West Hills was a 12-7 overtime victory which was thus Dowden's final win as a Fallbrook High School player and also became Dowden's favorite Fallbrook High School aquatics memory. Dowden won the sprint to start the first overtime and scored two of those five overtime goals.

Her senior prom was Dowden's overall favorite high school memory. Bill Richardson's art class was Dowden's favorite class at Fallbrook High School.

Dowden plans to be a nursing major at Azusa Pacific and hopes for a career in nursing after she completes her college activity.