Water Polo takes Third at San Diego Open

The Mercer Island High School Boys Water Polo team earned third place in the San Diego Open Water Polo Tournament Oct. 25-30 in La Jolla, Calif.. 

The Islanders earned their highest finish in 4 years in the 35-team tournament that includes some of the top players and teams in the country.

"While everyone got to play and improve, our seniors really stepped up by providing consistency throughout the tournament," Coach Ryan Hall said.

Seniors Henry Fox and Eugene Chong were two of seven players in the tournament to earn First-Team All-Tournament honors, and Goalie John Ahalt earned Honorable Mention.

After winning their first game against Westview High School, 20-9, the Islanders faced eventual tournament champions Bishops School (La Jolla, Calif.). Bishops, a perennial powerhouse, effectively capped the usual offensive output of Mercer Island, limiting Fox and Chong to one goal apiece in the game. Ethan Hallowell led Islander scoring with 2 goals, and Eric Benca and Sam Peterson also scored a goal each, as the Islanders fell 12-6.

The Islanders got back on track against Valhalla High School (El Cajon, Calif.), winning 17-2. Chong led the scoring with 5 goals, while Henry Fox and Evan Moline each added 4 goals. Ethan Hallowell and Eric Benca scored 3 and 1 goals respectively. Defensively Fox led with 6 steals and goalies John Ahalt and Ken Trowbridge had 9 and 2 saves respectively, holding Valhalla scoreless in the first half. 

In the Oct. 30 quarterfinal game against Mt Carmel High School (San Diego, Calif.), Mercer Island demonstrated an offensive and defensive balance. Fox and Chong led scoring but defense was key to turning back the Mt. Carmel shooting barrage and winning, 16-8. Sophomore Sam Peterson had 4 steals while goalies John Ahalt knocked down 5 saves and Ken Trowbridge added 4 in the fourth quarter alone. Fox and Chong each had 5 goals, Evan Moline and Ethan Hallowell had 2 each, and Kalen Hopkins and Jim Deiparine added one each.

The tournament ended for the Islanders later that after noon against Santana High School (Santee, Calif.). The teams played to a 3-3 tie at the end of the first quarter, but Santana adjusted their defense to aggressively collapse on key Islanders Chong and Fox. Chong was later charged with a second ejection and forced to leave the match for the rest of the quarter. Despite best efforts from freshman Kalen Hopkins—who scored 2 of his 3 team-leading goals that quarter—the Mercer Island's offense couldn't keep up with Santana. The Islanders fell to the Sultans in a 10-18 loss.

"It was a great weekend of water polo," said Coach Hall. "We will need to apply this experience and continue to work hard if we're going to be successful at State this year." 

The state tournament will take place at King County Aquatic Center in Kent Nov. 5-7.