The Estevan Sharks water polo program hosted a three-division tournament at the Estevan Leisure Centre on the weekend. Teams from Regina and Weyburn came to compete in the atom girls, atom boys and mini age divisions.
The atom girls started off the day. The Sharks team faced off against two evenly matched Regina teams. The three teams met each other three times throughout the morning. The Sharks girls fought hard, but struggled to keep ahead of the Regina teams.
Veteran players Rachel Tober and Mahlyn Bomberak showed strong leadership throughout the day, both in the pool and on deck with their young team. Rising stars of the tournament included Sharks players Lexi Walkom and Jennika Linthicum.
The Sharks girls ended the day with just one win on the board, however most of the games were very close contests. Other members of the team were Jill Rosengren, Alexa Gettis, Marlow Molstad and Lachlan O’Handley.
At noon the co-ed mini squads hit the water. Estevan entered two teams in this division. The first game saw the Blue Sharks swimming against their Estevan friends the White Sharks. It was a fun back and forth match, with the White Sharks winning in the end.
Team Blue, coached by Chad Knoll, had a win against Weyburn, but lost their final two games to Regina. Their record was 1-3 on the day. Team Blue welcomed Anna Boutin from the Saskatoon Pirates Club onto the team.
The White Sharks mini team, coached by Nicole Elliott, had a successful tournament, winning against the Blue Sharks, losing to Regina but making a comeback to win two in a row against Weyburn.
The tournament marks the end of the competitive season for the mini Sharks program. They will continue with practices until the end of the month.
The games for the atom boys finished out a long day at the pool. Estevan again had two teams competing. They faced Weyburn and two Regina teams.
The Blue Sharks finished with an undefeated record, scoring at least 10 goals in each of their games.
The Green Sharks had a rough start to the day, losing to the Blue Sharks and Weyburn. In the last games against both Regina teams, Team Green pulled together and became unstoppable, winning the last two contests.
The Sharks had other club members helping on deck during the tournament. Logan Dalziel, Lucas Dzeryk, Dave Dzeryk and Ethan Elliott refereed games. Lily Knoll and Nathan Threinen were in-water helpers throughout the matchups for the minis.
The Sharks are now entering the peak of their season. There will be Sharks players in the water every weekend from now until the end of March. The 14U Sharks players travel to Winnipeg this weekend in the next round of National Champions League games.
