The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.

The CSM women’s water polo team closes the regular season 3:30 p.m. Friday with a home match against Ohlone, a team the Bulldogs have already beaten once this season.

In fact, coach Randy Wright has been pretty prophetic this season. Of the Bulldogs’ 18 matches this season, he’s pretty much known beforehand not only who would win, but the final margin of victory.

Last week, he predicted his team would lose to Foothill (which it did, 7-1) and beat West Valley (also correct, a 12-0 pounding). He already knows, more or less, how the rest of the season will play out for the Bulldogs: a win over Ohlone and a loss to Foothill in the semifinals of the Coast Conference tournament next weekend — which CSM will host — before a third-place showdown against Cabrillo. That is the one match Wright believes can go either way.

A win Friday, however, would give the Bulldogs a winning record in conference play and, if everything else falls into place, a win over Cabrillo would allow the Bulldogs to finish the season with an overall record of .500.

“We’ve finished third once before. Our goal was to finish in the two to five (place) zone. I think we can definitely get that job (finishing third in conference) done,” Wright said. “I’m extremely proud of what the team has learned (this season). It’s amazing to see what three months can do at the college level.”