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THE ILLPOLO REPORT

Week 5

The following is a summary of what took place during the most recent week in water polo action in Illinois. This is not a complete list; the purpose is to recognize several of the best performances from across the state that have been reported.

Players To Watch

BOYS

Peter Dales (Glenbrook South)

Sam Fishman (Glenbrook North)

GIRLS

Sarah Suppes (LWW)

Tami Carlson (Fremd)

Biggest Impact Plays

BOYS

Nick Traxler (STC North)

Traxler scored the game-winner and added an insurance goal in STC North's 9-7 win over Neuqua Valley on Thursday.

Robbie Wickes (Oak Park)

The OPRF freshman scored two straight goals in the second overtime period to lift the Huskies past Lyons 9-8.

Robert Rodriguez (DLS)

Rodriguez scored the game-winning goal as the Meteors got past Kirkland 11-10 and advanced to the fifth-place of the DeSmet Tournament on Saturday.

GIRLS

Caroline Wojtas (Palatine)

Wojtas' rebound goal with two seconds left in regulation gave the Pirates' a 5-4 win over Prospect on Wednesday.

Niki Neumann (Prospect)

Neumann scored a crucial goal in Prospect's 3-2 overtime victory over Hersey on Monday night.

Top Goalie Performances

BOYS

Collin Bawolek (STC North)

Bawolek stopped 29 shots to help the North Stars finish in second place at the Naperville North Tournament over the weekend and made 22 saves in wins over Metea and Neuqua earlier in the week.

Trevor Prince (Loyola)

Prince saved 32 shots in the Ramblers' tournament-winning weekend at Lyons and also totaled 18 saves in wins over St Rita and New Trier during Week 5.

GIRLS

Becky Callen/Lauren Burns (Stevenson)

The Stevenson duo totaled 36 saves in wins over Boone, Fremd, and New Trier over the weekend; meanwhile, Burns stopped 9 shots in an 8-6 win over Mundelein on Tuesday and the pair allowed just two goals against Vernon Hills in a 14-2 victory on Thursday night.

Maddy Demaret (Conant)

Demaret made 30 saves at the GBS Tournament in wins over the hosts, Hinsdale Central, and LWW and made 19 saves in wins over BG and Palatine during the fifth week of the season.

Biggest Surprises

BOYS

Oak Park

Not really much of a surprise, but Oak Park beat both Lyons and Stevenson at the LT Tournament over the weekend and have become a viable state title contender halfway through the season.

GIRLS

Conant

The Cougars sent a strong message to Palatine on Monday night with an 11-6 win in a crucial MSL West fixture. The Cougars have the potential to earn their first-ever sectional title if they continue to progress in 2014 and are the division leaders halfway through the MSL schedule.

News and Notes

Fenwick Dominates Missouri

The Friars won the DeSmet Tournament and handed SLUH and Parkway West their first losses of the 2014 season en route to a 5-0 finish over the weekend.

Good Friday

With the holiday weekend approaching, some tournaments will be shifting to a Thursday/Saturday format, while a few others will carry on with business as usual on Friday with a regular tournament schedule.

Midseason Arrives

The regular season hit the midpoint on Wednesday of last week. Only a few schools have Spring Break this week and most teams are at full-strength as things start to get "real" as the postseason approaches.

Spring Bracket Draw

Expect the IHSA to announce the state tournament brackets later this week (if all goes according to plan).

Super Ballers

BOYS

Cameron Shewchuck (Loyola)

Danny Farmer (Fenwick)

Ryan Masi (Fenwick)

GIRLS

Angie Skittone (Conant)

Carmen Rosas (Conant)

Maddy Demaret (Conant)