Spartan Water Polo teams shine in Sunny California
The Spartan Water polo club’s Midwest Zone teams shine once again in sunny California with two teams finishing in the top 25 teams nationally (16th & 21st Place). The Spartan Water Polo club Boys teams spent five days (July 30, 2010 to August 3, 2010) in the Los Angeles, California area for the 2010 USA Water Polo Junior Olympic Tournament. This national tournament featured 48 teams from across the United States in four different age groups, and the Spartan Water Polo Club was well represented in the 18 & under as well as the 16 & Under divisions.
The Boys 18 & Under team featured players from Okemos (MI), Jenison (MI), Chicago (IL), and Columbus (OH). After going 4-0 in the 2010 Spartan Invitational tournament at Michigan State University July 23rd through July 25th, this team headed to California with high expectations, and they did not disappoint. This team battled hard over the course of the tournament en route to a 16th place finish in the gold division. This finish matched the highest finish for the club in the 3 + years the Spartan Water Polo club has sent teams to Junior Olympics. The 18U team faced teams from California, Texas, and Florida, which included a hard fought 9-8 win over Dallas (Texas) and a heartbreaking shoot-out loss to Northern California’s 680 club.
The boys 16 & Under team featured players from Okemos
(MI), Jenison (MI), St. Louis (MO), and Columbus (OH). This team improved
throughout the tournament en route to a 21st place finish in the
gold division. They played teams from
The Spartan teams represent as many as 5 different high schools and 4 states, The Spartan team’s accomplishments once again this year is best postured as a great success as they were competing against well established club teams with athletes that have played this sport as unified single teams since they were 12 years old, and in some cases even younger.
The Spartan Water Polo club also has sent two girls teams, one in the 18 & under and one in 16 & under division. The girl’s tournament was held August 5th – 8th. The Spartan Water Polo club was the only club in the Midwest Zone to send four teams to the national 2010 junior olympic tournament as each team qualified through a zone qualification tournament at the end of June.
As the student-athletes return to their home towns with their wealth of knowledge taken from their experience, each of the high school teams represented can look forward to successful high school seasons respectively. The Spartan Water Polo Club looks forward to continued success well into the future and sending teams to the 2011 Junior Olympics.