Two years ago, the boys water polo team struggled with lack of leadership, mediocre instruction and very few games. It was not an enjoyable experience for anybody, but the freshman who hadn’t ever so much as touched a water polo ball were the ones who suffered the most. However, this spring has been an interesting, fun, and very exciting season for the team. According to the freshman, this season has been a great learning experience for them.
“This is my first time seriously playing water polo, so I really didn’t know the basics before the season started,” said freshman John Copp. “Our coaches are really good, and I’ve learned so much.”
Four weeks into the season, the Bulldogs are currently 6-4-1. They have competed in two tournaments, one at Stagg and one at Hinsdale Central. At the Stagg tournament, they tied Stagg 12-12, lost to New Trier 4-12, won 14-7 against St. Charles North and won again against Bradley Bourbonais 17-5. Because the tournament standings were based on goals allowed, the Bulldogs took fifth place out of eight teams.
The Hinsdale Central tournament was not a bad one for the Bulldogs, but it took place over spring break and half of the starters were missing. However, they managed to take fourth place out of ten teams. Their boost came from a 9-8 victory over Lincoln Way Central, who were ranked in the top 25 teams in the state at the time. The next day, they played Stagg for the second time in two weeks and won 11-6. After that, everything went downhill for the Bulldogs. Two losses were marked down for the Bulldogs against Hinsdale Central and St. Andrew, both times by a score of 17-6. This tournament differed from the last, this time the best score margin was what determined the winner of the tournament. If the Bulldogs had their whole starting team present, the tournament might have turned out differently.
“I think that if we had our whole starting lineup then we would have won for sure,” claimed sophomore Bryan Doyle.
The Bulldogs will be facing off against Lane Tech tonight at 6:00 at home. Both teams are extremely close to making the Top 25 polls, so it’s going to be a very hard-fought game for both teams. No matter who wins, it’s certain that whichever team comes out on top will clamber out of that pool with no strength or energy left in them.
--Submitted by Eddie Morrissey, News Manager |
