It was a great weekend in the pool for the Estevan Sharks water polo program, as they travelled to Saskatoon for provincials. Six Estevan teams entered and four of them came home with medals, including two gold, one silver and one bronze.
The tournament, held at the Shaw Centre, is the final tournament of the season.
The 12-and-under (12U) atom girls faced the only other 12U girls team, the Regina Battleship, in the first game of the tournament. They outscored Regina 12-1.
Their other games of the tournament were against the Regina 12U boys teams (Fireship and Dreadnaught). The girls played very fast, hard-fought games against these teams.
They tied the Dreadnaught 9-9 and lost by two to the Fireship. The Dreadnaught and Fireship went on to be boys 12U gold and silver medallists.
In the girls gold medal match, they again faced the Battleship team. Estevan dominated in both ends of the pool, and won 14-4, bringing home provincial gold. Jordyn Tarnes, Lily Knoll and Emily Sauter lead the team in goals. Goaltenders for the weekend included Rachel Tober, Mahlyn Bomerack, Sarah James, Jennika Lithincum and Prysm Gooding..
The 12U atom boys faced the Regina teams that the girls played, as well as the Weyburn Hurricanes. The boys fought hard, with two of the games having very close scores, but did not put any wins together over the weekend. Shiven Sangar and Brooks Milford lead the team in goals, while eight-year-olds Royce Milford and Carter Yunick gave 100 per cent every shift against boys twice their size and up to four years older. They contributed many assists and steals. Bennett Williser and Keegan Mennie-Kindlein were strong netminders.
The 14U bantam boys had a tremendous weekend in Saskatoon. They went in playing hard for the wins and won the gold medal. They started the weekend off by playing the Regina Pirate Ships and took that game by a score of 12-8. They worked extremely well together and it showed.
The next game later was against the Regina Battleships and they played well all game with strong offence and defence to win 15-5.
The boys then played the Regina Pirate Ships again in the round robin and with a closer game, they pulled out an 8-5 win. Their final game of the round robin was once again against the Regina Pirate Ships, which they won 16-7.
This put the boys directly into the gold medal game where they would once again face their A-side rivals, the Regina Pirate Ships. Both teams played a very consistent game and were tied 8-8 at half time, and after a quick pep talk from their coaches, the Sharks pulled off a quick goal in the third quarter and keep the pressure on to win the game 12-8.The bantam girls had a tough weekend. They faced three extremely strong Regina teams and were unable to come away with any wins. Sadie Smith and Emily Tarnes led the team in attacks, steals and goals. They will regroup over the summer and look to be strong in the fall.
The Estevan cadet boys came into the tournament with the youngest team in their division but they pulled off some great scores considering only one member of their team, Cameron Gillingham, is cadet age. The rest of the team were bantam players. With the experience they are building, this cadet team will be one to watch in the future.
The cadet boys played three straight games against Regina and although they lost all three, they came away with a bronze medal from their final game.
The Estevan cadet girls played great in the round robin games, defeating the Regina Battleship 14-6 and Regina Dragonship 13-10. They battled hard against the Regina Destroyers in the round robin and the gold medal game, but could not get past their opponent’s strong defence and goaltender. They brought home the silver medal.
