Boys High School Rankings for Week of 10/16/2011

1. Newport
2. Roosevelt
3. Bellevue
4. Curtis
5. Rogers
6. Auburn Riverside
7. Bainbridge Island
8. Auburn Mountainview
9. Puyallup
10. Enumclaw

One by one, the contenders take their shots, but the Newport Knights remain in the No. 1 spot. (this poetry moment was brought to you by the Committee).  It never seems to be easy and some would say it hasn't been very pretty, but somehow Newport keeps finding a way to win and last week was no exception.  The Knights squeaked by Bellevue for a 1 point victory on Monday and then played even with a stubborn Auburn Riverside for three quarters before pulling ahead in the fourth.  Guess what?  This week won't get any easier for the Knights as they travel to north Seattle to take on the Roosevelt Roughriders.  Roosevelt had a relatively easy week with a 14 to 7 victory over Mercer Island.  Nothing overly impressive but good enough for Roosevelt to remain at  No. 2.  This week, the Roughriders have some serious business to take care of.  First, they get to take the ferry to Bainbridge where the Spartans will be looking to finally upset one of the elite teams.  The next night, Roosevelt clashes with Newport in the heavyweight battle of the year.  Bellevue holds on to the No. 3 position following their 1 point loss to Newport.  The Wolverines put forth a great defensive effort, but fell just a little short in their upset bid.  This week, the Wolverines take on Mercer Island who are returning from the THills Tournament in Oregon with some wins.  The Curtis Vikings appear to be back in their groove with wins over Lakes and Emerald Ridge and keep their No. 4 ranking.  This week, the Vikings will put their ranking to the test by hosting Bainbridge in what promises to be a great match up.  Rogers remains at No. 5 registering wins over Puyallup and Peninsula.  It looks to be fairly smooth sailing for the Rams until their rematch with Curtis on 10/25.  (Can't wait!).  Auburn Riverside had their shot in prime time against Newport and showed they can hang with the best of them.  The experience will only help come playoff time and the Ravens secured their No . 6 ranking for another week with an 18-10 victory over Peninsula.  Bainbridge started the week with a little character building against CPA but rebounded with a victories over Mercer Island and and Wilson. ( Hmm, that Wilson score was kind of close).  This week Bainbridge has two great opportunities to move up in the rankings with contests against Roosevelt and Curtis, but for now the Spartans are No. 7.  Auburn Mountainview is finding out that when you are ranked, your opponents give you their best shot.  The Lions took Enumclaws' best shot and prevailed in an overtime victory to keep their No. 8 ranking.  Puyallup has not played a lot of games in the last few weeks but they have played high caliber opponents in Curtis and Rogers.  The Committee can't penalize the Vikings for these losses and Puyallup remains at No .9  for another week.  However, the committee is looking for Puyallup to chalk up some wins to close out the regular season.  The Enumclaw Hornets started the week with a win over Kentridge before their overtime loss to Auburn Mountainview. A weekend trip to Oregon netted 4 victories.  The Hornets dropped a few games to the top ranked Oregon teams, but that will only make them stronger as the playoffs approach. Enumclaw holds onto the No. 10 spot and appears to be getting a little better each week.

Boys High School Rankings for Week of 10/9/2011

1. Newport
2. Roosevelt
3. Bellevue
4. Curtis
5. Rogers
6. Auburn Riverside
7. Bainbridge
8. Auburn Mountainview
9. Puyallup
10. Enumclaw

No one said life at the No.1 spot was going to be easy.  The Newport Knights started their Island themed week with a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island and barely escaped the turbulent waters of the Bainbridge Aquatic Center with a 1 point victory.  Gee, now I know why the north teams seldom traveled to Bainbridge in years past. It's a tough place to play against the Spartans of Bainbridge.  The Newport Knights secured another week at No. 1 with their win and closed out the week with a relatively easy victory over Mercer Island.  The big battle of the week was for the No. 2 ranking when Bellevue travelled to North Seattle to take on the Roosevelt Roughriders.  The match was close for three quarters but Roosevelt was able to pull away in the fourth quarter for a 9 - 6 victory.  To the victorious Roughriders goes the No. 2 ranking in this weeks poll.  The Roosevelt/Bellevue rubber match could very well lead to playoff elimination for one of these top ranked teams.   Bellevue held on to the No. 3 spot with a convincing 14-9 victory over Bainbridge.  Curtis remains in the No. 4 position with victories over Puyallup, Peninsula, and Mark Morris.  Hmmm, the Peninsula game was very close.  (Just saying.)  Rogers continues to reside at No. 5 and shows that they are one of the elite teams with victories over Mark Morris and Auburn Mountainview.  Auburn Riverside lit up the scoreboard with 25 goals in their victory over Enumclaw and retains the No. 6 position.  (Note to AR:  If you have the Internet, could you keep the committee apprised of your results? Thanks)  Yes Bainbridge, that means you are still No. 7.  Another impressive showing against Newport, but the Committee doesn't want to make a habit of rewarding moral victories. You still have a chance to move up.  Isn't Roosevelt taking a ferry to Bainbridge in a week or so?   Following a loss to Rogers, the Auburn Mountainview Lions recovered with wins over Wilson and Kentridge, which is good enough to hold onto the No. 8 ranking for another week. Puyallup had the pleasure of getting thumped by Curtis, but that puts them in pretty good company and their No. 9 ranking is safe this week.  The choice for No. 10 is a difficult one. Wilson was on the ropes last week and their loss to Enumclaw knocks them out of the rankings.  Peninsula's close game with Curtis peaked the Committee's interest, but then it brings up that moral victory stuff.  Enumclaw did beat last weeks No. 10 team, and the Hornets deserve the No.10 ranking this week.  Congratulations Enumclaw, but be careful, things can be dangerous at No. 10.

Boys High School Rankings For Week of 10/2/2011

1. Newport
2. Roosevelt
3. Bellevue
4. Curtis
5. Rogers
6. Auburn Riverside
7. Bainbridge Island
8. Auburn Mountainview
9. Puyallup
10. Wilson

It seems like the season just started and we are already approaching the midpoint.  There really is no clearly dominant team and there is still plenty of time to move up or down in the rankings. A win over a higher ranked opponent can move you up, but a loss to a lower rank opponent can send you down or even out. There is always a team waiting to get into the top ten.

Newport had the pleasure of playing CPA and took one on the chin in a 14 -  4 loss.  Don't worry Knights, your No. 1 ranking is still intact.  CPA beats everyone.  Speaking of CPA,  you guys are really good and your parents love you very much, but you are still not eligible for the rankings.  However, you are fun to watch and any team that gets to play you is stronger for the experience.  Hey Newport, this week your game at Bainbridge counts.  Your  #1 ranking comes with a target on your back.  Roosevelt holds onto the No. 2 spot with an 11 - 7 victory over Bainbridge.  This could be Roosevelt's year if they can survive the brutal North division.  Bellevue jumps up a spot to No. 3 with a 20 - 6 victory over Mercer Island.  Seems like the Wolverines were taking out a decade's worth of frustration.  This week, Bellevue takes on Roosevelt and the #2 spot will be up for grabs.  Bellevue wants to prove that their earlier victory over the Roughriders was not a fluke.  In a rematch of last year's championship game, Curtis suffered a 1 point defeat at the hands of Rogers and drops a spot to No. 4.  Probably a good lesson to learn earlier rather than later.  With the win,  Rogers gains a measure of revenge and moves up three places to No. 5.  Why #5 and not ahead of Curtis, you ask?  Hey, its a tough call but the Committee has to take a look at the entire body of work like Roger's 1 point victory over Emerald Ridge and their performance at the Auburn Tournament.   Last week, Auburn Riverside earned a 1 point victory over Auburn Mountainview but moves down a spot to No. 6.  Blame Rogers, when one team shoots up the poll, others drop at least spot.  That's okay, # 6 is still impressive.  Bainbridge Island comes in at  No. 7.  The Committee knows you think you deserve to be higher. Nothing wrong with dropping a match to Roosevelt and your  schedule provides plenty of opportunities to move up the in the rankings. Oh look, Newport is taking the ferry to Bainbridge this week.  Just when the Committee was considering moving Puyallup up a spot, a score comes across the wire;  Auburn Mountainview 11 Puyallup 3.  It appears the Lions of Auburn Mountainview have awakened and they jump up 2 places to the No. 8 position. Puyallup was on a roll until their encounter with Auburn Mountainview.  What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger and the Vikings remain in the No. 9 position.  Wilson drops three spots to No. 10. The Committee knows that Wilson beat Rogers earlier in the season but the losses are starting to build up. A few wins would help if the Rams want to remain in the Top 10.


Last weeks Poll Question:  Which Team Deserves to be Ranked in the top Ten?

The choices were : Lakes, Mercer Island, Peninsula and Enumclaw

Every team was able to garner support.  Of course, it would help if one of these teams had some wins last week to support their cause.  Enumclaw had a good excuse because both of their games were cancelled.  Enumclaw got the most votes.  Heck, the Committee would love to see Enumclaw in the rankings.  The Enumclaw Water Polo Blog drives a lot of traffic to this site when they're ranked.


The Committee will be on their annual retreat this week and might have trouble posting scores.  Keep emailing scores and every effort will be made to post them, ( but no promises )

Boys High School Rankings for Week of 9/25/2011

1. Newport
2. Roosevelt
3. Curtis
4. Bellevue
5. Auburn Riverside
6. Bainbridge Island
7. Wilson
8. Rogers
9. Puyallup
10. Auburn Mountainview

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boy sand Girls, Water Polo Fans of all ages; Welcome to the initial rankings of the 2011 Washington State Boys High School Water Polo Rankings!

The 2010 season marked the end of the high school careers of some of the best players in state history.  Some teams are prepared to reload and other will need to rebuild.  During the first three weeks of competition, nothing seems certain, but it does appear that parity in both the north and south leagues has made a welcome return.  Parity makes for a much more exciting season, but it also makes it difficult to rank the teams. However, the Committee's Commodore 64 has crunched the stats and run the  algorithms to produce the initial rankings.

The Newport Knights have earned the No. 1 spot with victories over Mercer Island, Roosevelt, Bellevue, Rogers, Curtis and Bainbridge.  Mind you, none of the victories have been by a large margin, but it is an impressive streak of wins over formidable opponents.  Gotta love parity.  Roosevelt starts off in the No. 2 position. I know they got off to a slow start with a 1 point loss to Bellevue but they defeated Curtis by 1 point at the Fall Festival tournament and have played Newport twice in the last week losing both games by 1 point.  At No. 3, Curtis is a team that just seems to keep reloading year after year and this year is no exception.  The Fall Festival took a toll on their win/loss record, but losses to Newport and Roosevelt are nothing to be ashamed about and the experience will make them stronger as the season progresses.  Look for Curtis to remain the top team in the South with a good chance of returning to the championship game.  Bellevue comes in at No.4 with wins over Roosevelt, Bainbridge Island and Wilson.  Their only loss (that the Committee is aware of) is to Newport and there is still plenty of time to rise in the poll.  Last year, Auburn Riverside debuted an No. 10 in the inaugural rankings and then proceeded to sink into oblivion.  Yes, the Committee noticed a little life at the end of the season but the Committee could not have predicted Auburn Riverside's fantastic start to the 2011 campaign.  Congratulations on winning the Auburn Tournament and welcome back to the rankings at No. 5.  Once upon a time,when the current Bainbridge Island players were babies or possibly embryos,  Bainbridge Island ruled the the world of high school water polo in Washington.  It's been a very long arduous trek since those glory years and no team has paid their dues more than Bainbridge.  It seems the wait is over and Bainbridge Island is once again a force to be reckoned with.  Welcome back!!  Enjoy the warm glow at No. 6 and congratulations on your victory last week over Mercer Island.  The Wilson Rams  have had a batch of close games and  produced victories over Rogers, Enumclaw, and Puyallup that earned them the No. 7 spot.  The Committee can't really penalize Wilson for losses to Auburn Riverside and Bellevue, and we can forgive the season opening loss to Peninsula ( for now ). Rogers, last year's runner up in the SPSL Championships, debuts this year at No. 8.  Rogers has gotten off to a good start, but has taken a few lumps against some north end teams.  As some of the new players gain experience, the Rams could very well  be a factor again in the post season.  At No. 9, this years edition of the Cardiac Kids are the  Puyallup Vikings.  A lot of very close losses to start the season showed that the Vikings were improving, and a strong showing at the Auburn tournament allowed the Vikings to crack the initial 2011 rankings.  Last year,  the Mountainview Lions just missed out on the final rankings.  Their youthful team exceeded expectations and  now all their opponents know they are a threat.  An early season 4-point loss to Curtis shows that the Lions have the ability to contend with anyone.  Time for last year's youth to play like seasoned veterans.  Welcome back to the rankings at No. 10.

For the last 11 years, the Islanders of Mercer Island have dominated high school water polo and produced some of the greatest players in Washington high school history.  This year appears to be a major rebuilding year and Mercer Island is not in the initial rankings.  To the Committee's knowledge, the Islander's  have 4 losses in their division which probably equals the total number of losses they had in the previous 11 seasons combined.  The season is young and unlike previous years, there really is no clearly dominant team in Washington.  Don't be too quick in counting the Islanders out.  Maybe its a good year to be rebuilding when parity seems to be a common theme.

2011 Rankings

Hope to post initial 2011 rankings within the next 10 days after a few more games are played.  I need help getting accurate scores from both the north and south leagues.  Please email scores to washhsh2opolo@gmail.com