Illpolo.com | The Illpolo Blog
Saturday, May 9, 2009 8:45pm
BOYS RECAPS
Stevenson 12 Lincoln-Way Central 11
Ali Khan and Ty Kuper both scored 4 goals and Doug Malfar added 2 scores in Stevenson's 12-11 victory over Lincoln-Way Central. Joe Caffarini scored 3 goals in the loss for the Knights.
Buffalo Grove 6 Palatine 4
Matt Block scored 2 goals while Brad Lotzer, Dan Striev, Glen Bernard, and Matt Cooney each added a score to lift Buffalo Grove over Palatine 6-4. Dan Schmitz had 20 saves for the Bison.
New Trier 10 Glenbrook South 8
Bill Farmer, JR Guitart, and Matt McClone each scored 3 times to lead New Trier to a 10-8 win over Glenbrook South in the Central Suburban League title game on Saturday.
Lyons 9 Oak Park 8 (3 OT)
Patrick Weigand and Peter Bruton each scored 3 goals as Lyons outlasted Oak Park 9-8 in three overtimes on Saturday to claim the West Suburban Conference crown. Luke O'Connell scored 4 goals for the Huskies, while Dylan O'Connell added 2 scores in the loss.
Fenwick 15 Brother Rice 8
Craig Borkovec scored 4 goals, Chris Wendt added 3 scores and 5 steals, and Jon Osborne recorded 3 goals as Fenwick beat Brother Rice 15-8 in the MCAC title game on Saturday. Matt Napleton totaled 10 saves in the win for the Friars.
Loyola 13 St Patrick 9
Charlie Shaw scored 5 goals as Loyola defeated St Patrick 13-9 in the third place game of the MCAC Tournament. Jeremy Trinchere tallied 3 scores in the loss for the Shamrocks.
Stevenson 12 Neuqua Valley 11 (OT)
Ali Khan scored 5 goals, including the game-winner in sudden-death overtime, as Stevenson defeated Neuqua Valley 12-11 on Saturday. Doug Malfar also scored 2 times in the win for the Patriots.
GIRLS RECAPS
Hinsdale Central 7 Hinsdale South 5
Caitlin Connor scored 4 times to lead Hinsdale Central past Hinsdale South 7-5 to advance to the semifinals of the WSC Tournament on Saturday morning.
York 14 Morton 1
Mia Bogusz and Steph Ter Bush both scored 3 goals and Alex Brinkmeier scored 2 times as York defeated Morton 14-1 in the WSC Tournament on Saturday. They take on Oak Park in the second semifinal later this afternoon.
Lyons 16 Oak Park 14
Allie Grimes scored 5 goals and Lizzy Kosin scored 4 times (including the go-ahead score with 4:20 remaining) as Lyons defeated Oak Park 16-14 in the West Suburban Conference championship game. Katie Doyle added 3 scores in the win for the Lions, while Kirby Kaptur and Megan McNichols each scored 2 times in the win.
Mundelein Tournament Recap
Mundelein went 3-0 at their Saturday-only tournament, beating Buffalo Grove, Latin, and Prospect in the process. Alice Denny and Evelyn Kurzac both scored 7 goals in the three game set to lead the Mustangs, while Alexis Jones added 5 scores over the weekend. Latin went 2-1 on Saturday, as Brittany Wallace tallied 11 scores for the Romans. Prospect earned one win over Buffalo Grove, as Meg Dix scored 5 goals in their 10-6 win over the Bison.
Wheeling 6 Bremen 5
Amy Wilson and Liseli Baich each scored 2 times to help lift Wheeling to a 6-5 victory over Bremen. Cassie Jo Miller led Bremen with 3 scores in the loss.
Young 11 Lane 1
Gabriela Cabrera totaled 16 goals and goalie Shay Bell allowed only 5 goals at the CPS Tournament this week, as Young beat Lane 11-1 in the tournament championship game on Saturday. The Dolphins also beat Von Steuben 10-3 on Saturday morning, as Cabrera tallied 6 scores in the semifinal game.
Friday, May 8, 2009 11:00pm
BOYS RECAPS
Homewood-Flossmoor 8 Lockport 7
Shay Banton scored 3 goals and Russell Maanum added 2 scores as H-F defeated Lockport 8-7 on Friday afternoon. Neal Zoellick also recorded 12 saves in the win for the Vikings. Josh Libman totaled 4 goals and Drew Duckett made 18 saves in the loss for the Porters.
Oak Park 26 Hinsdale Central 13
Armando Lee, Luke O'Connell, and Tommy Poulos each recorded 5 goals and Dylan O'Connell added 4 scores as Oak Park beat Hinsdale Central 27-13 in the WSC semifinals on Friday night. Eric Hallman also scored 3 times in the win for the Huskies, who advanced to the title game to face Lyons on Saturday afternoon.
Loyola 12 St Ignatius 11
Charlie Shaw scored 4 goals, Sean Hulseman netted 3 scores, and Connor Murphy scored 2 times as Loyola edged St Ignatius 12-11 in the quarterfinals of the Catholic League Tournament on Friday night. Brendan Moore and Garrett Mulchrone both scored 3 times in the loss for the Wolfpack.
New Trier 13 Evanston 6
Bill Farmer scored 5 goals and Matt McClone added 4 scores as New Trier defeated Evanston 13-6 to advance to the CSL Tournament final on Saturday.
GIRLS RECAPS
Lincoln-Way East 4 Lincoln-Way Central 3
Maude Kingsbury recorded 8 saves and Alyssa Toland totaled 10 steals as Lincoln-Way East held off Lincoln-Way Central 4-3 in a defensive battle on Friday night.
Bradley 6 Stagg 5
Emily Caise tallied 3 goals to lead Bradley to a 6-5 victory over Stagg on Friday.
Andrew 16 Lincoln-Way North 4
Ashley Stromberg scored 3 goals and Katie Fischer, Kayla Kutinac, Kelly Baumgartner, and Leah McCarthy each scored 2 times as Andrew beat Lincoln-Way North 16-4. Katie Sharp also recorded 11 saves in the win for the Thunderbolts. Taylor Nelson led LWN with 3 scores in the loss.
Thursday, May 7, 2009 9:14pm
BOYS RECAPS
Naperville Central 16 Sandburg 9
Ben Reasons scored 6 goals, Mark Menis added 4 scores, and goalie Tyler Kelley recorded 11 saves in Naperville Central's 16-9 win over Sandburg.
York 12 Morton 3
Marc Krolikiewicz scored 5 goals as York knocked off Morton 12-3 in the opening round of the WSC Tournament.
MSL CHAMPIONSHIP
Schaumburg 20 Rolling Meadows 9
Chris Corbett recorded 4 goals, Aaron Johnson, Anthony Derovac, and Mike Kehoe each scored 3 times, and Brandon Kase and Eddie Walsh both scored 2 goals as Schaumburg claimed the MSL Championship with a 20-9 victory over Rolling Meadows on Thursday night. Dan Vockerath scored 4 times and Pat Lebuhn added 3 scores in the loss for the Mustangs.
GIRLS RECAPS
Naperville Central 9 Sandburg 4
Abbey Kerth and Claire Fleming both scored 3 times and Haley Nelson added 2 scores to lead Naperville Central to a 9-4 victory over Sandburg on Thursday. Sam Virella also made 10 saves in the win for the Redhawks. Alyssa Turza tallied 2 scores in the loss for the Eagles.
Bremen 10 Hinsdale Central 7
Catherine Vivado and Emma Martinus scored 4 goals apiece and Julie Velcich made 19 saves as Bremen defeated Hinsdale Central 10-7 on Thursday.
Latin 9 Waubonsie Valley 3
Brittany Wallace scored 3 goals, Ashley Henderson added 2 scores, and Chloe Kaulus made 7 saves in Latin's 9-3 victory over Waubonsie Valley.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 10:45pm
BOYS RECAPS
Stagg 11 Lincoln-Way North 10
Nick Vasdekas scored 4 times and Drew Stoffel added 3 goals as Stagg held off Lincoln-Way North 11-10. Nick Roberts totaled 7 goals for LWN in the loss.
Lincoln-Way East 14 Homewood-Flossmoor 9
Kyle DeGroot scored 6 goals and Kevin Kubik added 4 scores as Lincoln-Way East beat Homewood-Flossmoor 14-9. The Griffins used a 5-0 run after the break after the teams ended the first half tied at 6-6. Shay Banton scored 5 times, Russell Maanum had 5 assists, and Neal Zoellick recorded 11 saves in the loss for the Vikings.
Mundelein 15 New Trier 10
Mike Begrowicz and Pat Falconer both tallied 5 goals to lead Mundelein to a 15-10 win over New Trier on Wednesday.
GIRLS RECAPS
Homewood-Flossmoor 5 Lincoln-Way East 2
Sophie Schloen recorded 14 saves and limited LWE to just 2 goals and Hannah Ongman tallied 3 scores as Homewood-Flossmoor defeated Lincoln-Way East 5-2 on Wednesday night. Maude Kingsbury saved 18 shots in the loss for LWE.
Lincoln-Way Central 9 Andrew 8
Jessica Piry and Stacy Wymer each scored 3 goals and Jessica Graf scored 2 times to lift Lincoln-Way Central past Andrew 9-8. Ashley Stromberg recorded 7 goals in the loss for the T-Bolts.
Riverside-Brookfield 21 STC North 8
Katherine Pike recorded 8 goals and JoJo Tabor added 4 scores to lead R-B to a 21-8 victory over STC North. Lisa Thomas also aided in the win, totaling 8 assists and 14 steals, while goalieNatalie Benoy made 13 saves and 4 steals for the Bulldogs.
St Viator 8 Vernon Hills 7 (3 OT)
Melanie Battaglia scored the game-winning goal in sudden death overtime as St Viator beat Vernon Hills on Wednesday. Battaglia and teammate Cally Belbin each scored 3 times in the win for the Lions. Kelly Steininger scored 5 goals and goalie Gena Lopez made 12 saves in the loss for the Cougars.
Oak Park 12 Morton 3
Audrey Reardon scored 3 goals, Lisa Mansfield added 2 scores, and goalies Isabel Firpo and Vicki Maslowski combined to make 13 saves in Oak Park's 12-3 win over Morton.
New Trier 8 Mundelein 7
Maddy Urban scored with 0:35 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give New Trier an 8-7 lead and the Trevians held on to beat Mundelein on Wednesday night. The Mustangs led 7-5 entering the final period, but New Trier used a 3-0 run to close out the game and earn the win. Urban scored 3 times to lead the Trevians, while Ryanne O'Donnell and Sophia Palmer both notched 2 scores in the victory. Evelyn Kurzac led the Mustangs with 3 goals and Alexis Jones added 2 scores in the losing effort.
MSL CHAMPIONSHIP
Fremd 10 Wheeling 4
Erika Lauraitis scored 5 goals and Allison McCarthy and Katie French both scored 2 times to help lead Fremd to a 10-4 victory over Wheeling in the MSL Championship game on Wednesday night. Amy Wilson scored 3 times in the loss for the Wildcats.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 9:00pm
BOYS RECAPS
York 19 St Viator 7
Colin Albue and Marc Krolikiewicz each scored 3 times as York defeated St Viator 19-7 on Tuesday evening.
Richards 13 Morton 10
Marty Uzzardo scored 8 goals and John Pudinoff added 4 scores as Richards held off Morton 13-10 on Tuesday. Tom Wodarski recorded 10 saves in the win for the Bulldogs.
Sandburg 16 St Rita 10
Cody Siemeck scored 7 goals to lead Sandburg to a 16-10 win over St Rita in nonconference action on Tuesday.
Maine East 6 Vernon Hills 1
Danny Ward and Steven Tom both scored 2 goals and goalie Alex Hrnjak made 15 saves as Maine East beat Vernon Hills 6-1.
Meadows 13 STC North 6
Pat Lebuhn scored 6 goals and Damian Fitzsimmons added 3 scores as Meadows defeated STC North 13-6 on Tuesday.
GIRLS RECAPS
Sandburg 11 Neuqua Valley 7
Alyssa Turza scored 5 goals and Stephanie Pouder registered 23 saves in Sandburg's 11-7 win over Neuqua Valley. Jeanette Nolte scored 4 goals in the loss for the Wildcats.
Barrington 16 Vernon Hills 6
Chelsea Simon scored 8 goals and Megan Clampitt added 2 scores as Barrington beat Vernon Hills 16-6. Kelly Steininger recorded 4 goals in the loss for the Cougars.
Lyons 13 Lincoln-Way Central 1
Katie Doyle scored 3 goals and Emily Bornhoff stopped 9 shots in Lyons' 13-1 victory over Lincoln-Way Central on Tuesday night.
Naperville Central 15 Buffalo Grove 4
Claire Fleming registered 4 goals to lead NC to a 15-4 victory over Buffalo Grove on Tuesday.
Latin 11 Marian 4
Jordan Yaakoby scored 4 times and Ashley Henderson and Brittany Wallace both tallied 3 goals as Latin defeated Marian 11-4.
Monday, May 4, 2009 9:30pm
Water Polo Coverage In 2009...Or Lack Thereof
By Aaron Brown
Back in 2003 when I decided to start a high school water polo web site in Illinois, I did it out of necessity more than anything else. I had just wrapped up my first year as a high school coach while fresh out of college, and I felt like I had no idea what was going on in the state with regards to this great sport. There was little chance of finding out who was playing, where they were playing, or when they were playing on any given night. Keep in mind, the Internet was around but there were only a handful of teams that even posted a schedule on their school web page. Just like everyone else, I found out what was going on in the sport by word-of-mouth and that was it.
I remember getting to spring break in my first season as a coach; our pool was closed for repairs during that time so we had no games and no practices and all I wanted to do was find a water polo game each night to see how other teams played and see what was going on outside of my own little water polo world. But there was nowhere to turn. Newspapers rarely listed water polo schedules, the Internet only provided about a dozen team schedules (and finding those was difficult), and there didn't seem to be much concern about increasing the exposure of the sport.
Flash-forward to 2009. The Internet is everywhere. Anyone can access a web site via cell phone. Information can be sent by text message, Twitter post, e-mail, phone call, and so on. All but 5-6 teams don't have a schedule posted on their school web site and, of course, there is a web site titled Illpolo.com that tries to supply as much information about Illinois High School water polo as possible.
Unfortunately, that's almost all there is as far as water polo coverage in 2009. Let's take a quick glance at the media's reporting of water polo this year:
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
The kingpin of media coverage in Illinois...but what a lack of effort in regards to water polo. Click on their online link for the sport and you see two articles about last year's state tournament. No effort whatsoever to even acknowledge the sport until the state finals. They do list scores on a nightly basis, but that's about it.
DAILY HERALD
The Daily Herald removed 99% of their coverage, failing to even post scores or schedules in 2009 after listing box scores and daily/weekly schedules for the past few years and having 3-4 freelance reporters attend games and write articles about the sport. A quick check of their web site shows that they list every spring sport...except for water polo. Did they not get the memo that water polo became an IHSA sanctioned sport in 2003? One water polo article was listed under the BOYS SWIMMING heading until they finally removed that winter sport from their site altogether.
PIONEER PRESS/LOCAL PAPERS
These articles are out there, as the local media at least tries to report on what is happening in their respective community. Problem is, outside of anyone in the community that reads these newspapers, the player performances and any recognition is limited to the local area only.
SUN-TIMES
What a sad state of affairs when a former major media outlet is copying the work of a non-for-profit web site run by a high school teacher...but that's what was happening with this newspaper in the early stages of the season. Whoever was reporting for the Your Season section of the paper was going to the Illpolo Blog, taking the information and rewriting it in their own words and passing it off as if they had reported on it themselves with no reference made to Illpolo.com. Tough spot for me, as I want more and more media coverage...but at least ask the source if it's okay to use their information regardless of whether you cite them or not. How did I test this? I posted false information earlier this year on the blog (some of you might have seen it and wondered about it) saying that Bolingbrook High School beat teams like Romeoville and Joliet Catholic that included recaps with complete descriptions. The Sun-Times listed this information on their site, rewritten to make it look like they reported on the game. Problem was that those teams don't exist, nor does the school I work at even have a pool or swim team. They listed our school principal, my best friend, my fiance, a panda bear that lives in the San Diego Zoo, and Devlin-McGregor (a fake company from the movie 'The Fugitive') as leading scorers and top performers in those games. It took weeks until the editor of the entire paper finally got the situation resolved.
CONCLUSION
I suppose the print newspaper is dying a slow death these days, with reports that some of these media forms are not going to be in existence in the near future. So where does that leave the coverage of the sport? Other than Illpolo.com, there isn't much information out there. I wish there were other sources that provided rankings for the sport so that the only opinion that existed was that of my own. I wish that there were 4-5 places to find out who were the top performers at weekend tournaments or weeknight games about new teams like Argo, Maine South, or Shepard. And I wish there was more of an effort by the media to recognize high school athletes who play one the toughest and most physical sports in existence and put in an inordinate amount of work and deserve a lot more credit for their performances.
The only thing left to do is fight the trend of less coverage and less recognition for water polo players. Send your information to Illpolo.com as frequently as possible. There's a handful of teams that I never hear from. That only punishes the players on those teams. Let me deal with the behind-the-scenes coverage issues and allow me to recognize these great high school athletes for their performances. Let's try and make water polo the sport with the best coverage in the state of Illinois.
Monday, May 4, 2009 9:20pm
BOYS RECAPS
Homewood-Flossmoor 13 Lincoln-Way Central 12
Russell Maanum and Shay Banton each scored 5 times as H-F held off LWC 13-12 on Monday. Petar Jackovich scored 4 goals in the loss for the Knights.
Juarez 15 Northside 9
In the play-in game of the Chicago Public League Tournament, Juarez defeated Northside 15-9 and advanced to face top-seed Curie on Thursday night.
Stevenson 12 Waubonsie Valley 7
Alex Rembialkowski scored 4 times, Ty Kuper added 3 scores, and Doug Malfar and Grant Stevens each scored 2 times in Stevenson's 12-7 win over Waubonsie Valley.
GIRLS RECAPS
Sandburg 15 Lincoln-Way North 1
Jessica Petrisko scored 4 goals to lead Sandburg to a 15-1 win over Lincoln-Way North on Monday afternoon.
Lockport 14 Bradley 11
Maggie Knowles 6 goals and added 4 steals to help lift Lockport to a 14-11 victory over Bradley. Jackie Bart scored 3 times and Emma Alleruzzo added 2 scores in the win for the Porters.
Mundelein 16 Schaumburg 1
Evelyn Kurzac scored 6 times and Alexis Jones added 5 scores to lead Mundelein to a 16-1 win over Schaumburg on Monday night.
York 10 Hinsdale Central 8
Janet Skukas scored 6 times to lead York to a 10-8 victory over Hinsdale Central to claim a third place finish in the West Suburban Conference.
Oak Park 7 Naperville North 4
Audrey Reardon scored 4 goals and drew 7 ejections to lead Oak Park to a 7-4 win over Naperville North on Monday. Jenna Kirk added 2 scores and Vicki Maslowski recorded 10 saves in the win for the Huskies.
Andrew 12 Stagg 5
Ashley Stromberg and Jill Jesionowski each recorded 3 goals and Katie Fischer added 2 scores as Andrew beat Stagg 12-5 on Monday.
Sunday, May 3, 2009 5:20am
Week 8 Updates - Game recaps and news from Week 8 of the 2009 season
Super Ballers - Find out which players were named Super Ballers after Week 8 (Coming soon)
Ballers of the Week - Check out which players earned 'Baller status' for Week 8 (Coming soon)
Sunday, May 3, 2009 3:30am
The rankings after the eighth week of the season have been updated:
Top 25 Rankings
Check out the complete Week 8 Updates from the 2009 water polo season.
Check out the complete Week 7 Updates from the 2009 water polo season.
Check out the complete Week 6 Updates from the 2009 water polo season.
Check out the complete Week 5 Updates from the 2009 water polo season.
Check out the complete Week 4 Updates from the 2009 water polo season.
Check out the complete Week 3 Updates from the 2009 water polo season.
Check out the complete Week 2 Updates from the 2009 water polo season.
Check out the complete Week 1 Updates from the 2009 water polo season.
Sunday, February 21, 2009 9:55am
PLAINFIELD, IL – I need your help! My mission is to ensure that the sport gets the proper coverage that these boys and girls deserve, starting with this web site and hopefully moving towards the newspapers. I will do everything I can to make this happen, but if I could get some assistance I would be greatly appreciative.
I don't know how long I can keep this pace up...the cost of web hosting, wireless Internet, domains, travel expenses, gas, and the time spent volunteering can be very difficult when all is said and done. To make a donation, have an advertisement placed on the site, or to become a sponsor, either click the PayPal link or read the following contact information:
Any donations can be made to No Limit Water Polo, which is a not-for-profit organization. If you are interested in helping out or have questions, you can contact me by e-mail at illpolo2007@yahoo.com, by phone at (847) 331-6520, or by sending mail to:
Illpolo.com
21343 Earhart Court
Plainfield, IL 60544
Click the link to donate via credit card or PayPal
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