Competing against the top youth teams in the Pacific Northwest, Rain City Water Polo’s 14U squad went 5-1 and won last weekend’s Rose Cup Tournament in Beaverton, Ore.

By winning the tournament, they also earned an invitation to Junior Olympics, the national championship tournament for youth water polo held in Southern California in late July.

Rain City opened the Rose Cup against tournament-host Tualatin Hills on Saturday morning. In an exciting game that featured multiple lead changes, Rain City fell just short, losing 12-11. The squad rebounded by recording three straight victories to reach Sunday’s semifinals. In the semifinals, Gabe Florsheim and Mercer Island-native Topher Lacrampe led Rain City in scoring and goalie Anton Resing contributed several key blocks as Rain City defeated Chehalem (Ore.) by five goals.

In the finals, Rain City faced Tualatin Hills for the second time in 24 hours. Given the chance to avenge its earlier loss, Rain City jumped out to an early lead thanks to Florsheim’s offense and Josh Rehder’s defense. Rain City led the entire game and earned an 11-7 victory.

Joining Florsheim, Lacrampe, Resing and Rehder on the championship squad were Jordan Graham, Shawyon Jaffarbhoy, Lucas Parker, Natalie Hoffman and Mercer Island natives Xander Lacrampe, Ford Witman and Gabriel Andrews. The Rose Cup championship was the first-ever tournament championship in Rain City Water Polo’s brief history.

Rain City Water Polo is a non-profit focused on promoting the sport in the greater Seattle area. Learn more by visiting www.raincitypolo.com.