BC
Youth Women Nab National Crown
Vancouver,
B.C. - May 7, 2008
It
was a blow out! BC's Pacific Storm Youth Women (U18)
arrived at Water Polo Canada's National Championship,
held over the weekend in Montreal, strong, prepared and
ready to battle for the National crown. But the battle
never materialized. From the first game the BC women out
played, out swam, and out shot the competition. They
left unbeaten, victorious and holders of the national
title for the 3rd consecutive year. The 12 member gold
medal team coached by James Gardiner and John Stockdale
launched a powerful attack from the opening minutes of
play and continued to dominate throughout the 4 day
tournament.
Gardiner
summarized the tournament, "The Pacific Storm U18
Women's team win in at Nationals was a beautiful of show
of power, speed and creativity. The girls played
incredible throughout the tournament, improving with
each game as their opponent grew stronger. The team
gelled together in the pool, selflessly moving the ball
to all members creating brilliant offensive
opportunities. On defense, they were smothering, making
teams play out of their comfort zone, forcing teams into
mistakes and pressured shots. These actions led to a
lightning fast counter attack. Knowing that if they
pushed the tempo of the match, their opponents would
tire, thereby creating more scoring opportunities
towards the end of the game. The team was full of
confident, aggressive and determined young women,
peaking at the right time of year".
The
BC Women trounced the competition with point spreads in
the double digits. In the championship final Pacific
Storm faced off against Quebec powerhouse Dollard- des-Ormeaux
(DDO). It was expected to be a tight contest between the
East / West rivals but the Pacific Storm women took off
at the opening whistle and did not stop until the final
buzzer - they logged a clear decisive win. The final
score of the gold medal match up was 14 - 8 Pacific
Storm.
Keeping
with water polo tradition the team pulled coaches
Gardiner and Stockdale into the pool to celebrate the
win. Surrounded by a jubilant team Stockdale added,
"It was a complete tournament from a complete
team".
It
was a great way to end a club 'career' for 5 Pacific
Storm women who have been awarded US sports
scholarships. All will play NCAA division 1 water polo
in the Fall.
BC
Water Polo congratulates Monika Eggens (University of
Hawaii), Kelly Stewart (San Jose State University),
Athina Vazeos (CAL Berkeley), Kelly Thompson (Cal State
University at Monterey Bay), and Jakie Kohli (Indiana
University).
Individual
honors at the U18 National Champioship went to Gardiner
who was named Most Valuable Coach. Game star nods went
to Jakie Kohli, Kelly Stewart, Kirstn Mase, Athina
Vazeos and Allison Campbell. Kohli and Mase were named
to the All Star team.
Contact:
Cheryl Wilson-Stewart
BC Water Polo - PR
pr@bcwaterpolo.com
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