Girls Varsity Water Polo: St. Andrew’s Palm Beach Invitational

BY KAYLA LOKEINSKY

The Cooper City High School girls’ water polo team competed against the top teams in Florida February 23-25, at the Saint Andrews’ Palm Beach Invitational. At this exclusive, invitation-only tournament, the Cowboys went 2-2, coming in seventh place out of 16 teams.

The Cowboys began the tournament on Thursday, February 23, when they faced off against Suncoast High School. The teams were neck and neck throughout the game, but thanks to the amazing defense of goalie Emily Aron and four goals by junior Kelly Chmura, the Cowboys defeated Suncoast with a final score of 8-6.

That game put the Cowboys in the winners bracket, facing off against the Winterpark High School Wildcats, the team that defeated them in the state semi-finals last season. Although the girls fought hard, there was no stopping the sheer speed of the Wildcats. The score was 13-0 by the second quarter. The Cowboys then took out all of their starting players in order to give the new players a chance to experience a real water polo game. Although the freshman goalie made her first ever save and the new girls only let in 3 goals, the Wildcats remained on top. Senior Serena Benner made the only goal for the Cowboys. The game ended with a final score of 16-1.

On Saturday, February 25 the Cowboys played Saint Andrews High School, the host of that weekends tournament. In their most intense game yet, the Cowboys suffered a 9-4 loss, which left them to compete for seventh place against Saint Thomas High School. Thanks to the expert defensive skills of seniors Emily Aron and Maria Pitt, the Cowboys held the Raiders to a score of 4-3. This put them in seventh place out of 16 teams, the Cowboys highest ranking to date in this tournament.