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A huge day in American water polo. TWp monitored events from Bellarmine Prep in San Jose at the championship round of the Memorial Cup, the classic NorCal-SoCal boys high school battle. Observations from the pool deck and beyond:
- Two of the historic American boys high school teams met for the championship of the Memorial Cup. Corona del Mar dispatched cross-bay rival Newport Harbor in the semis, and Long Beach Wilson took down Northern California powerhouse Miramonte, to reach the finals. Wilson took control immediately with pinpoint catch-and-release shooting, a highly effective counterattack, and elevated defense. Then halftime adjustments. Down 8-3 CdM effectively took Bruin stud Jackson Kimball out of the game by cherry picking early in the shot clock. Wilson was not so much confused as simply put out of sorts while the Sea Kings accumulated points methodically and Wilson’s offense stagnated. A lesson in persistence and enthusiasm; Coach O’Dea was equally vocal cheerleader and tactical guru, and the results were well earned: 11-10 the final score. CIF-Southern Section rankings should be altogether jumbled this week as a result.
- Cathedral Catholic supporters streamed the Dons’ seventh place victory over host Bellarmine online at sdpsn.com. Here’s hoping more California high school programs, who are woefully behind their non-California colleagues in showing games online, will follow suit.
- Upper Arlington swept the Ohio state championships with both girls’ and boys’ wins over Cincinnati’s Sycamore. The boys dominated winning 17-2 while the girls won 6-3. More details to be found at ohiowaterpolo.com
- At Cumberland Valley High in Mechanicsburg, North Penn took the girls’ Pennsylvania state championships today with a 9-3 win over Souderton. The boys meet in North Penn next weekend where the Knights will attempt to follow the success of Maidens.
- Third-seeded McDonogh surprised the field and won the boys’ MIAA (Maryland) championships with a win over perennial power, Calvert Hall. Their coach, Scott Ward, will be leaving the team after 14 years.
- The girls from Moraga’s Campolindo High defeated surprising Clovis West to win the Nor Cal Water Polo Championship Tournament at Sacred Heart Prep. West defeated in-town rival Clovis in overtime, and host Sacred Heart, for the right to play number-one seeded Campolindo, who won the title match 11-7.
- Long Beach State scored the big upset victory of the day winning in Cal’s pool 11-10, while Pepperdine added to the MPSF confusion by beating Santa Barbara in Isla Vista. USC remains untouched and UCLA barely so, but the rest of the top 10 seems truly up for grabs. Long Beach State visits Stanford tomorrow (TWp will be there), a match with meaningful implications.
