This past weekend the Estevan Sharks water polo club sent eight teams to the league finals in Regina. They returned with four medals, including two gold and two silver.
Both of the 12-and-under (12U) atom girls dominated their age division, winning all games against the Regina teams. The Reef Sharks battled hard against the Tiger Sharks in round robin play, but couldn't pull off a win. Tiger Sharks player Mahlyn Bomberak scored five goals in a row to lead her team to an 11-7 victory over the Reef Sharks.
The two Sharks teams met again in the gold medal game. This time the Reef Sharks were stronger. Jordyn Tarnes scored eight of the Reef Sharks 12 goals to beat the Tigers and win the gold medal. A highlight was eight-year-old rookie Shark Ava Mainprize scoring her first-ever atom goal.
The two 12U atom boys teams finished the season in fourth and fifth place. The boys made tremendous improvements from the start of the season to league finals. The coaches are very excited for the future seasons with these young athletes. Brothers Brooks and Royce Milford combined for eight goals throughout the tournament.
The bantam U14 girls team had a very strong tournament. The team consisted of three bantam-aged players: Emily Tarnes, Sadie Smith and Alandra Young. The rest of the team was made up of girls from the younger atom age division: Jordyn Tarnes, Lily Knoll, Prism Gooding and Emily Sauder.
The girls won their first game and tied the second against teams from Regina. They fell short in the third game against a team from Regina, but their combined points for the day put them in the gold medal game. They battled hard against the Battleship team from Regina, but came up short and brought home the silver medal.
The Sharks sent two 14U bantam boys teams as well. The Reef Sharks played in the B pool and after three straight wins, made it into the semifinals, where they faced off against the Regina Tugboats. After a close match, they won 8-5 and moved into the gold medal game.
Going back and forth with the strong Armada Dreadnoughts, the boys moved into strong defensive play for the second half but couldn’t score any further goals and found themselves with a silver medal after an 8-6 loss.
The Tiger Sharks had a harder go as they played in the A pool and consisted of a younger group of players. The boys came out of the round robin with a 1-2 record, which left them in the semifinals against Regina Battleship. The teams were very evenly matched but the Battleship held the Sharks at bay and secured a 3-1 win that left the Tiger Sharks out of the finals.
The 16U cadet team had a tough go against the older Regina teams and unfortunately came away with three losses during the weekend. The coaches look forward to watching this team grow as only one of the boys, Cameron Gillingham, was actually cadet age, so as more of the bantam boys move up, this will be a the team to watch.
The 16U cadet girls captured the gold medal. Strong goalie skills from Josie Andrist made the difference in a tough competition. The team played strong offence in the gold medal final. Emily Tarnes, called up from the 14U team, helped secure the gold medal by finding the net four times.
The final league play for these teams will be the spring provincial finals March 30 and 31 in Saskatoon.
