By St. Louis, MO –On the eve of this weekend’s DeSmet Invitational, a highlight of boys’ prep water polo in the spring, Lyons Township prevailed over St. Louis University High to win the York Tournament title in Chicago this past weekend. Doing so puts the Lions atop illpolo.com’s weekly rankings and hands them the unofficial title of best in the Midwest, temporarily at least.
The Missouri invasion not only saw SLUH severely test Illinois’ number one team, but produced a sparkling one-goal win over Fenwick for the first time in three annual visits to Chicago, propelling the Billikins to the championship match against Lyons, where they were unable to maintain their semifinal quality and fell 15-4.
SLUH enters the DeSmet Tournament bolstered by its milestone performance in Illinois, and should be among the favorites to win it, along with Fenwick, 2012 Missouri State Champions Parkway West, and Florida top-ten, Dr. Phillips of Orlando.
Thus proceeds Midwest prep water polo without a dominant team, much as coaches had predicted.
“This could be first time in some time that the [Missouri] championship is wide open,” says SLUH Head Coach Paul Baudendietsel, naming MICDS, Parkway West, Kirkwood, Parkway South, The Billikins, and DeSmet as contenders.
DeSmet coach, and Tournament organizer, Miguel Figueras says it’s a “coin flip” between SLUH and Parkway West for the Missouri title.
Meanwhile in Illinois, Lyons and Fenwick have already exchanged places in the top spot, each having beaten the other once this season.
While not exactly parity, each state features highly entertaining rivalries with top squads from each competing for the title of best in the Midwest.
As for the future of the DeSmet Tournament, Figueras is interested in expanding the footprint of his already diverse competition and is reaching out to top teams from Texas, St. Mark’s of Dallas in particular, for next year. Utah powerhouse Kearns is also in his sights, but rules regarding high school sanctioning may be an obstacle to their invitation.
The most surprising team in the field is undoubtedly Cleveland from Tennessee. As reported in TWp late last year, the state is sanctioning the sport for the first time this spring. Cleveland has emerged as an early favorite to take the Volunteer State title, but not before the very stiff challenge presented by some of the best squads from Missouri, Illinois, and Florida.
More to come as TWp reports from St. Louis this weekend.
