Water polo heads to state seeded No. 1

The Islander boys water polo team finished off the 2009 regular season with wins over the University of Washington during a scrimmage and beat Bellevue in the final regular match of the season.

Against the Huskies at the Mercer Island Country Club, the two teams clashed, as former Islanders came home for a reunion game. The Islanders won 22-14, beating three former teammates, Tom Stowell, Sam Sussman and Peter Zajac.

The Islanders earned an early lead during the scrimmage, jumping to a 5-3 lead before the Huskies surged back to take the lead at halftime, 10-9. With new energy, the MI team outscored UW during the second half to end with the final winning score of 22-14. Kennan Adams and Henry Fox each scored six goals, Eugene Chong added five and Theo Danciu and Kyle Nakagaki each had two goals, while freshman Sam Peterson earned a goal of his own. Goalkeeper John Ahalt had 10 saves during the scrimmage.

The next night, the Islanders took on Bellevue, a team that had spent the season preparing for Mercer Island. MIHS was able to keep the upper hand, winning the game 17-8. Fox had eight goals, Chong earned three, Adams, Nakagaki and Danciu each put two into the net, and Ahalt earned nine saves during the win.

The team will head to Federal Way this weekend for the state tournament, which the Islanders enter as defending champions — and where they will look to bring home their 10th consecutive team title. Competition begins on Nov. 7 at the King County Aquatic Center.

The team’s first game will be Saturday morning at 10 a.m. against CPA. The Islanders will then take on the No. 2 team, Roosevelt, at 2 p.m. Sunday’s games depend on how the team finishes the first day of the tournament.

Contact Mercer Island Reporter Sports Writer Megan Managan at mmanagan@mi-reporter.com or (206) 232-1215 ext. 5054.

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