By - Jersey Village started strongly against Clear Creek in the championship match paced by some crafty off-speed shooting by Iona-bound Chris Ellis. Two perfectly placed junkballs kept Clear Creek’s first-team goalkeeper, Scott Lyle, off balance and kept the Falcons in the game. It wasn’t enough as the Wildcats exploited some defensive breakdowns to keep Jersey Village at bay. Junior Jared Castillo of Clear Creek was a marked man throughout the game and tournament, and was left one-on-one in front of the goal at his opponent’s peril. He will bring his power and quick shot back to Clear Creek for one more season.
- Baytown Sterling head coach TJ Markewicz jumped for joy as the clock wound down on his championship girls team, and with the victory over Clear Lake he collected his first coach-of-the-year award. Sterling also produced the girls’ player of the year in senior goalkeeper Darla Vasquez. She was the class of her position among many fine goalies, but stood out for her excellent distribution of the ball after making several very good saves. The girl of the future at Sterling, however, is freshman Ashton Cole, a fearless shooter who plays beyond her years.
- St. Mark’s senior Warren Smith earned MVP honors and had a fine tournament. But coaches and other deck side observers (including TWp) were unanimous that sophomore Timothy Simenc was the premier talent in the pool. The 10th grader, who wants to be the first Texan to play on the US men’s national team, will be heading to the California Bay Area this summer to train with 2012 Junior Olympics champions Lamorinda. Simenc told TWp that he contacted several top clubs in the Golden State about his desire to train out West but received a reply only from the Lafayette-based club.
- Clear Creek continued its statewide success by sending their boys’ and girls’ sides in to the final four, with the boys taking the title. Coach Anne Woolweaver garnered coach-of-the-year honors for her efforts (shared with St. Mark’s coach, Mihai Oprea) and is a legendary name in Texas water polo. This season she had the help of Jeff Russ, former Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, and Calabasas (CA) coach who spent the short Texas season plying his trade as her assistant. A soaked Russ confided after the match that he would not be returning to the Wildcats next season but was still unclear about his next steps. A Texas championship on his resume should smooth the path to a new job.
- The Carroll facility was largely up to the task of hosting the very fast paced and jam-packed state championship tournament. TISCA’s plans are to rotate the site of the tournament each year among the four regions. The 2014 championship was originally slated for the San Antonio area. But with the withdrawal of those schools (with the exception of Alamo Heights) from TISCA water polo there is some uncertainty about next year’s location. When it does return to Dallas look for the brand new Westside Aquatic Center, which will apparently dwarf the slightly outdated Southlake facility, to be the popular choice to host.
- We were surprised to see FINA-rated Vern Heimbigner refereeing all day Saturday, including both championship matches. A Dallas job opportunity brought the long-time San Diegan to Dallas where he has already established himself in Texas’ growing water polo community.
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