Rio Mesa High's Nick Tomasello has immersed himself in competitive water polo games since he started making a splash in the pool in sixth grade.

Tomasello, 16, is battle-tested from the pool wars.

He's also nicknamed "Drago" because he bears a resemblance to Dolph Lundgren from the "Rocky IV" movie.

"It's from the club season and it's cool because teammates and opponents think I look like him — Drago,' " says Tomasello.

Tomasello's brother, Tony, a 2004 Rio Mesa graduate, was a standout water polo player and encouraged his younger brother to learn the sport. Tony, a UC Santa Cruz graduate, is the new Rio Mesa junior varsity coach.

"It was hard and vigorous and he (Tony) kept telling me to stick with it," said Nick, who has gone from being the Most Valuable Player with the Camarillo Titans club program to blossoming into one of the top 10 players for his age group in Junior Olympic circles.

Tomasello, a junior, is a third-year varsity player with Rio Mesa. He wrapped up his summer by helping the 16-and-under Santa Barbara Water Polo Club win a silver medal at the South Florida International Tournament, which was capped with a memorable win over the Russian Sturm club in the semifinals.

"We finished second overall in the California Cup League, which is a league that invites the best 12 clubs in the country to compete on a monthly basis. We won our local Santa Barbara Club Tournament," said Rich Griguoli, the Santa Barbara club coach, who is a full-time firefighter for the city of Santa Barbara.

"We took bronze at U.S. Club Championships, an invite-only tournament that includes the best clubs in the country. We finished with a silver medal at Junior Olympics, losing 2-1 to the Stanford Club in the championship game."

Griguoli has seen Tomasello's talent up close.

"Nick's dominance in the center position attracted a zone defense that allowed our team to get open shots from the perimeter. Without a strong center, it limits the ability of an offense to create opportunities. Nick was the backbone of our offense," said Griguoili of the All-America player and scoring leader.

"His leadership and mental toughness in and out of the pool helped our club to the best season ever in the history of the Santa Barbara Water Polo Club. Nick has a bright future in the sport of water polo."

Tomasello hopes to play for UCLA, national powerhouse who has already shown interest by sending a letter from coach Adam Krikorian.

After a 13-7 non-league win over then-No. 1-ranked Pasadena Poly, the Spartans (7-2) became the top team in Division VI. The Spartans will host Cate today in a non-league game at 3:15 p.m.

"We have to be a team and excel from a team standpoint," said Tomasello, who has scored 33 goals. "That's going to be the key in doing well in league and CIF. My sophomore year was a building year. This is the biggest year because we have a shot at CIF."

Tomasello hung out with the United States Olympic men's water polo team during the summer when it trained at Cal Lutheran and Oaks Christian.

"I really enjoyed meeting all the players," said Tomasello.

The highlight for Tomasello was sitting on the bench with the national team during an exhibition game against Croatia.

He absorbed all the game strategy, and was eager for the high school season to start.

In the season-opening Conejo Classic, Tomasello scored 17 goals in five games, leading the Spartans to a third-place finish. Eventual champion Malibu defeated Rio Mesa in a battle between the Sharks' Sean Merrick and Tomasello. But the Spartans also lost to tournament runner-up Thousand Oaks without several key players.

Tomasello and senior Danny White, team co- captains, guided Rio Mesa to wins over Notre Dame, Westlake and Oaks Christian. Tomasello was named to the all-tournament team.

A year ago, Tomasello was third team All-Pacific View League and the "Big Game Award" winner for scoring the most goals in the most critical and competitive PVL games. Rio Mesa finished second in league to Pacifica.

Besides a stellar water polo career, he has been a swimmer for Rio Mesa, leading the Spartans as a freestyle swimmer in relays.

Rio Mesa's swimming team has won the Pacific View League championships the last two seasons.

Tomasello has been in honor classes the past two years and is now enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Program, newly offered at Rio Mesa.

"He is looking forward to his involvement in Key Club this year as it involves an opportunity to interact with the community," said Tomasello's mom, Kellie.

Tomasello will be reaching out to the youth of Camarillo to help promote water polo and have others follow in his club footsteps with the Titans.

He will visit Los Primeros School in Camarillo for a class career/special interest day.

"He is also a caring, loving big brother to his 12-year-old brother Frankie, who has been inspired to play polo as well and 8-year-old sister Gracie, for whom he always finds special time," said Kellie.