KEARNS — After winning the 2004 5A swim championships in dominating fashion, Skyline added two more trophies to its cabinet on Saturday. For the second consecutive year, the Eagles won the Division-One Club Water Polo Championships played at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center.
The boys' team didn't lose a game throughout the week and defeated Kearns 8-3 in the championship round of the double-elimination tournament. Meanwhile, after making it to the title game undefeated, the Skyline girls' team fell to Murray 9-8 in their first championship try before dispatching the Spartans in the second game, 11-6.
"It's awesome (to win)," Skyline coach Rod Horton said. "When you can win both swimming and water polo, it's a hard thing to do. It speaks of our kids."
Faced with the prospect of winning three games Saturday, the Murray girls team simply ran out of gas in the last match. They began the day by beating Hunter 10-7, before their win 9-8 win over Skyline. The Spartans were led by Ari Roma, who was named the tournament's MVP. Roma scored five of her team's six goals.
"We knew we had a big advantage because they were so tired," Skyline senior Annie Quinn said.
Quinn won her third water polo title in four years, and she led the Eagles' offensive assault in the first half of their second game against Murray, scoring three goals to pace her team. Ruby Aleman also scored three times in the first half. Her tally with 1:33 left in the second quarter gave Skyline an insurmountable lead at 10-1.
"I wondered about how they would rebound (mentally)," Horton said about his team's earlier loss. "They came out on fire."
Katie Maasberg was Skyline's other leading scorer. Maasberg scored twice in the first-half and once in the third quarter. Lauren Witte and Adrienne Coburn were the half's other scorers.
"It's hard to single out a specific player," Horton said. "They all stepped up for us."
Getting off to a fast start also marked the boys' game. First-quarter goals from Micheal Mulvihill, Zac Smith and Jacob Zurcher gave Skyline a commanding 3-0 lead and put the Eagles on their way to the championship.
"We play better when we're in the lead," Horton said. "That lead gave them the confidence they needed."
Mulvihill led the boys offensively, scoring three times. Elliot Sorensen tallied two goals for Skyline.
Even though they trailed throughout the match, Kearns continued to create offensive chances. The Cougars had several quality chances on goal that were snuffed out by Skyline's Sam Thomas.
"You know what, we wouldn't have won today without him," Horton of his keeper. "He saved us today, and he saved us throughout the year."
Thomas was named the boys MVP.
Sklyine has now swept the last two water polo titles. In swimming, it has won four straight boys' titles and three girls' championships. That type of success has raised the bar for Horton's program.
"That's something that's a little scary," Skyine's coach said about his team's high expectations. "Once you've won, you feel like you want to keep it up."
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