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ST. XAVIER BOMBERS ATHLETICS

ST. XAVIER BOMBERS ATHLETICS
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Water Polo State Quarters 2023

Water Polo

Water Polo Season Ends in State Quarterfinals

Water Polo Season Ends in State Quarterfinals

The 2023 water polo season came to an end this past weekend in the state qualifying tournament hosted by Upper Arlington High School. We thought it'd be best to recap the season through the eyes of head coach Paul Splitt.

Team 23's journey started in the spring as the core of the team decided to pursue off season workouts together - from the weight room to the pool. It carried through summer conditioning and into the start of the high school season in August. Through the season the Bombers were in competition with the top teams from not just Ohio, but from all around our region beating the top teams from Michigan and were very tight with the top teams from Illinois and Pennsylvania. The Bombers were consistently one of the top teams in Ohio all year, and while they ended the regular season ranked 6th in Ohio - wins over the 2nd, 4th, and 5th ranked teams were a part of the resume. 
 
The regular season ranking of 6th meant that the Bombers would need to qualify for the state Final Four by going through the 11-seed and the 3-seed in the state qualifying tournament. The 11-seed was New Albany and the 3-seed was the 2x defending state champion and host, Upper Arlington. The opening round game was one of the most dominant defensive performances of the season - with the Bombers holding New Albany to 0 goals in the 1st half, and only allowed 2 late goals. The final was 11-2, setting the stage for a massive win or go home game against the Golden Bears of Upper Arlington. 
 
Before the game started, every member of the team put the letter T on their shoulder - as they dedicated this game and everything riding on it to their strength and conditioning coach - Coach Terrell "T" Williams. The game started off with several defensive stops for both teams, but eventually the Golden Bears found the way onto the scoreboard first, ending the 1st quarter up 2-0. The Bombers responded strongly in the 2nd quarter and scored the next 3 goals to go up 3-2. A few back and forth goals for each team led to a 5-4 lead for the Golden Bears at halftime. All season long the 3rd quarter was where opposition did the most damage to the Bombers, but not in this game. After three quarters of action it was 6-5 as the Bombers held the Golden Bears scoreless in the third quarter! 

The fourth and final quarter was nothing short of dramatic. With 5 minutes to go in the game it was 7-7. After a few big saves and misses by both teams we were down to the final 1:30 of the game, and Upper Arlington broke through the deadlock to go up 8-7. After a big save by the UA goalie, and a massive defensive stop by the Bombers, there was time for just 1 more shot - and it fell short. The Bombers lost 8-7 and ended their spectacular season with everything but a state title. The 8 goals scored by UA was their fewest goals scored all year, and their fewest playoff goals scored in 4 years. This was a massive and impressive game by the Bombers, but fell just short. 
 
The next stop for the water polo team will be their team banquet in early November. We are very proud of these young men. Congratulations on an amazing season! 
 
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