Capping its foray into national-level play with a victory, the
Morgan Hill Water Polo club beat West Suburban, Ill. 5-4 on Tuesday
in the 18-and-under Junior Olympics tournament held in the Bay
Area.
“We didn’t finish last and we didn’t get blown out,” MH coach
Mack Haines said. “It would have been nice to play in an easier
pool to start. On the other hand, we just had two and a half weeks
of intense water polo. The positive is we played against the very
best. “All the Live Oak and
Hollister kids got some great experience.”
Capping its foray into national-level play with a victory, the Morgan Hill Water Polo club beat West Suburban, Ill. 5-4 on Tuesday in the 18-and-under Junior Olympics tournament held in the Bay Area.
“We didn’t finish last and we didn’t get blown out,” MH coach Mack Haines said. “It would have been nice to play in an easier pool to start. On the other hand, we just had two and a half weeks of intense water polo. The positive is we played against the very best.
“All the Live Oak and Hollister kids got some great experience.”
MH, which included mostly Live Oak and Hollister-San Benito High players, got two goals each from Kyle Fast and Justin Short, and a goal from Bryson Bailey to beat West Suburban, from the Chicago area.
Earlier in the tourney, the local squad played in a pool with powerful programs from Newport Harbor (Southern California) and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., who both finished in the Top 8 in the tourney.
MH lost close games to both teams in pool play.
In preparation for the tourney, MH also scrimmaged against San Diego Shores, which ended up winning the Junior Olympics event.
MH’s team qualified for the Junior Olympic at the Pacific Zone tourney in June.
Though the team competed in the 18-and-under tourney, the local players’ ages range from 15-17.
And, Haines said many of the players on this year’s squad will still be eligible to play in next year’s Junior Olympics tourney.
“We’re very young,” he said.
Now, Haines and his Live Oak High players will prepare for the start of fall practice on Aug. 15.
