YMCA Aquatics 12U Water Polo Team Wins Tournament

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Greenwich Water Polo battles the best during its recent tournament in Montreal, Canada.
Greenwich Water Polo battles the best during its recent tournament in Montreal, Canada.

The YMCA’s Greenwich Aquatics 12-U water polo team was the top squad at the North American Haba Waba Tournament held in Montreal, Canada.

The original Haba Waba, held annually in Italy, is the most visible international water polo tournament for young children. The first North American version attracted 15 teams, ranging as far as Vancouver and Mexico City. Greenwich Aquatics went undefeated during the tournament with a perfect 10-0 record.

Unknown-4Even when challenged by a physically tough Kraken team from Mexico in the first half of the championship game, pulling away 15-5.

Jack Holl, JP Ohl and Gavin West led the scoring for the team, which is coached by Ulmis Iordache and assisted by Jamie Wolff. Robert Bergbaum, Jack Moore and Alex Plavoukos provided staunch defense and fast breaks throughout the tournament. The goalie, Danny Taylor, had the tournament’s lowest goals-against average and contributed timely assists to the speedy Greenwich swimmers.

The Championship team was joined by a younger team from Greenwich Aquatics, composed of athletes ranging from 8- to 12-years-old players. This team managed to fight through a number of injuries and ailments to finish in fifth place.

Luke Apostolides, Dawson Clark and Alessandro Portolano led the scoring, while Brandon O’Brien and Dado Soares played tough defense. Hayden Collins covered the net, saving dozens of shots. Connor Ohl and Ryan West, the two youngest players, proved able substitutes in the pool and superior conversationalists on the bench.

Next week, Greenwich Aquatics will send 10 teams to the National Junior Olympics in Orange County, California.

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