Dominance would probably be the best word to describe the Ventura College water polo program this season.

The men and women’s teams have clinched a number one seed for the Western State Conference tournament, with each posting undefeated marks (4-0) during conference play.

Women’s head coach Mary McDonough is happy to see both the men’s and women’s programs become so successful over recent years.

“It’s really exciting,” she said. “The men and women sort of feed off each other.”

When it comes to feeding, the teams have been having an all-you-can-eat buffet, as the men’s team posted a 17-4 record during the regular season, and the women’s team posted a 16-4 record.

Each team clinched the number one seed after decisive victories over Santa Monica College in the regular season finale.

Led by their offensive force Carly Clark, the women hope to make a name for themselves in the conference tournament, and understand the importance of winning the tournament.

If they win, the Pirates are granted an automatic seed into the Southern California tournament, which is for all the marbles. With a Pirates loss, they will most likely be eliminated from playing in the Southern California tournament.

To McDonough, you have to live by the Pirate motto “We play hard,’ or simply go home.

“It’s win the tournament, or most likely be finished with our season,” McDonough said.

What has contributed to such a stellar season for the women has been their offensive firepower. They are always on the attack, and their defense has been able to give them more opportunities on the offense end.

They say good defense creates better offense, and this is something both the men and women have been able to do.

McDonough did not hesitate to proclaim her team’s ability to play well on the offensive end, as well as defensively

“We play a real hard press-front defense,” she said. “We have great outside shooters, [which] poses a real threat.”

The Pirates are also effective communicators, according to Clark, helping the defense play harder, ultimately creating opportunities for the offense.

“Communication is the biggest key for us,” Clark said. “[The] defense starts getting really strong.”

The conference tournament starts on Friday and goes through Saturday, where the men and women’s teams hope to win and be able to get an automatic berth into the Southern California tournament.

So what needs to be done to ensure they can continue to dominate the WSC?

“Just finish everything we started,” Clark says. “I think if we just stay together we can continue to go far.”