- Mercer Island
- Curtis
- Rogers
- Newport
- Roosevelt
- Bellevue
- Enumclaw
- Wilson
- Auburn
- Lakes
In an epic showdown of titanic water polo powers, Mercer Island beat CPA in the High School Club Championship game 8 to 5. With the score tied at 1 apiece after the first quarter, Mercer Island was able to shut out CPA in the second and third quarters while tallying 5 goals. In the end the deficit was too much for CPA to overcome and Mercer Island wins the championship for the 11th year in a row. A great season for the Islanders complete with sweet revenge, a championship, and the #1 ranking in the final poll. Speaking of epic dramatic championship finals, the South Sound State Championship showdown between Curtis and Rogers lived up to the hype. With the atmosphere of a heavyweight title match, the Rogers faithful arrived in force hoping for their first title in 20 years. Tied at the end of the first quarter, both teams were locked in a defensive battle. At the half Curtis held a 1 point lead at 3 to 2. Championships are won with defense and offensive adjustments to take advantage of what little is given. This is where a season's worth of conditioning and hard work comes down to the final 14 minutes of a long season. In the end, the Curtis Vikings had just a little more depth and were able to outscore and outlast Rogers in an action packed 9 to 7 victory. A fantastic season earns Curtis the #2 ranking in the final poll. For Rogers it has been a great season and the Rams retain the #3 spot in the final poll. A young Newport team put a trip to California to good use to gain valuable experience prior to the state tournament. Two exciting wins over Roosevelt proved that Newport was one of the most improved teams in the playoffs, and the Knights jump up to the #4 spot in the final rankings. Roosevelt was on the ropes going into a cross-over game against Bellevue and in danger of plunging in the polls. Defense made the difference as the Roughriders prevailed over the Wolverines 11 -7 to retain their #5 ranking. Bellevue’s season ended with a 14 to 7 victory over Bainbridge, but the loss to Roosevelt drops the Wolverines to #6 in the final poll. Going into the playoffs, the Hornets of Enumclaw seemed to be struggling and a first round match against Curtis looked ominous for the Hornets. Despite losing 9 to 2, the match was much closer than the score indicating the Hornets were going to cause trouble for opponents the rest of the way. The Hornets pulled together and ran the table with victories over Puyallup, Wilson and Auburn to earn an impressive 3rd place finish in the South Sound State Tournament and the #7 spot in the final rankings. Hey, after a weekend like that, it seems a higher ranking is in order, but it gets crowded at the top and the Committee can't completely forget the regular season. Wilson was victorious in the first round of the playoffs, but was not able to keep Rogers in check in the second round. Hopes for a third place finish were dashed by Enumclaw, but the Rams did close the tournament with an impressive win over Lakes and finish the year with the #8 ranking. Auburn came into the playoffs ranked #6. After an opening round victory over Puyallup, the Trojans fell flat against the Curtis Vikings and barely survived in their next game against Lakes before falling to Enumclaw. Yes, the Committee knows you finished the tournament ahead of the Wilson Rams, but in the final rankings you are falling behind Wilson at # 9. The difference proved to be performance against common opponents in the playoffs. Hey Lakes, welcome to the top ten. It’s been a long road but your impressive win over Auburn Mountainview and close loss against Auburn shows how far you’ve come since the beginning of the season. The #10 spot is for the Lancers to cherish until next season. Sorry Auburn Mountainview, you had a nice season but you are dropping out of the top 10 to end the year. The Committee expects the Lions to roar loud next year.
Though much time, research, and thought are put into the process, these rankings are only the opinion of the Committee. They are intended to provide information and fun for those who follow high school water polo, as well as to promote water polo to a larger fan base. No disrespect is intended to any team, and I encourage each team to fully celebrate their accomplishments in their respective leagues.
Newport should be higher than Rogers and Curtis. Their competition is no where near newport's. Newport would beat both of these teams.
ReplyDeleteto above: don't you think that it makes sense that curtis should at least be at number two since mercer island holds the club state championship title and the curtis holds the high school state championship title? just saying it adds up and as the blog says play-off performance is ultimately ranked higher than season performance. i'm not saying newport isn't good, i'm just saying ranking wise, it makes sense how it is.
ReplyDeleteLet me share a little of the Committee's logic. Going into the playoffs and for most of the season, the Committee thought Curtis, Rogers, Bellevue and Roosevelt were very close and capable of beating each other. Each team had particular strengths and weaknesses. Roger's victory over Bellevue was discounted a little over time because it was Bellevue's first game of the season. Also, Roosevelt's and Bellevue's victory over Curtis early on lost a little of its significance as the season progresssed. Newport started in the polls ranked #5 and lost in the regular season to both Bellevue and Roosevelt, and later in a non-league game to Bainbridge which knocked Newport down to #9. No doubt Newport has improved but all they really showed in the playoffs is that they pose a particular matchup problem for Roosevelt which was ranked number #5 going into the playoffs. Sometimes its a game of specific matchups and Roosevelt did not make the adjustments. Newport's wins over Roosevelt were exciting quality wins, but the Committee thinks Newport was fortunate to avoid Bellevue in the playoffs, because Bellevue was better equipped to handle that particular matchup. Both Curtis and Rogers had great seasons and most importantly continued to improve as the season progressed. Curtis was deserving of their ranking going into the playoffs and there was no way they were going to drop after winning the South Sound Championship. For Newport, it was a great finish to the season but a jump from #9 to #4 is as good as the Committee can justify.
ReplyDeleteThanks committee for a fun ride.
ReplyDeleteWhere would CPA have ended up?
ReplyDeleteCPA would have ended up #2. The CPA boys had a great season and showed just how good they were as they shut out both Bellevue and Bainbridge in the playoffs and held Newport to one goal. This season, CPA is the only team in the state that can play at the same level as Mercer Island. In the championship game, it came down Mercer Island's senior leadership and experience. Next year, the best high school aged team in the state will be CPA.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if the boys on the CPA team could go back to their high schools and get a few more high school teams going. I know Sammamish had a strong polo team once upon a time. If the best water polo players from Curtis, Lakes, and Wilson played on the same squad it would be a very strong team, but would also be unfair competition for all other teams that only pull athletes from their own school. If the leagues are to join and create one high school league with one high school state championship next year, CPA and all clubs that pull from multiple schools will no longer have teams to play or a championship to play in. I am curious which north schools only pull from their own high school. I have heard Belleview, Mercer, Newport, and Bainbridge follow the high school rules... Are there other schools that only have athletes that attend their high school, or if attending a private school live in the district? It would sure be great to include roosevelt, shorewood, Sammamish and any others...At one time we were up to around 30 high school teams in the state, but that was over ten years ago now.
ReplyDeleteThe club league does offer some flexibility and I assume those teams accept CPA because they need enough teams to have a league. However, it does give CPA an advantage and that is why they were not included in the rankings. CPA has finished 2nd and 4th in their league the last two years. WIAA player elibility rules basically require that a student athlete either attend the school they play for or live within the school boundaries if attending a private school. I believe Bellevue, Newport, Mercer Island,Bainbridge, and Roosevelt could field teams based on those rules next season and most of them did so this year. I think Shorewood draws from both high schools in the Shoreline school district and might have difficulty fielding team based on WIAA rules. One problem for the club teams is cost. Without school support, the availability and cost of pool time is a challenge and has been an obstacle in creating or maintaining teams. A merger sounds good, but if it ends up with less high school teams and fewer athletes playing water polo, the sport might be taking a step backward in Washington. Hopefully the decision makers take the big picture into account and seek a solution that gets more high school kids playing water polo.
ReplyDeleteIs this a committiee of one?
ReplyDeleteYes. I like to think an informed knowledgeable one.
ReplyDeletewell played sir.
ReplyDelete