Waterpolo weekly update

Oct. 26

What happened: Last Friday the Bucs traveled to Rockford for their final tournament before the district playoffs. Grand Haven avenged their loss earlier in the week to Zeeland, by defeating Zeeland 11-6. On Saturday, the Bucs faced off against Upper Arlington (Ohio), fighting for a tough 8-4 victory. Later that afternoon, a physical state ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer squad would prove too tenacious for the Bucs, dropping that game 7-6. In the last game of the tournament, the Bucs contended against Rockford, falling 11-4.

Key contributor: Hayden Schouman led the Bucs defense once again with five steals against Zeeland.

Quote: “Even though we dropped the final two games, we still placed third of nine teams,” head coach Bill Hamm said. “ That is something we can be proud of.”

Up next: The Bucs look ahead towards district playoffs, where they have a bye the first round and will face the winner of Zeeland and West Ottawa.

Oct. 16

What happened: The Bucs traveled to Grandville Monday night to face off against the Bulldogs. Already securing the number one seed in the district tournament, the Bucs proved too tough for the Bulldogs, blowing past on their way to a 16-1 victory.

Key player: Brennan Latchaw kept the pace for the Bucs defense against Grandville, racking up five steals to stunt the Bulldogs offense.

Key moment: The Bucs grabbed an early 6-0 lead on their way to a 16-1 blowout of Grandville.

They said it: “ We took the opportunity to work hard on running an organized offense and seeing if they could each member open for scoring opportunities,” said Head Coach Bill Hamm.

Up next: The Buccaneers turn their attention to the district tournament, where they are ranked sixth in the state and hold the number one seed in the district.

Sept. 30

What happened: The Bucs finished this past weekend on a positive note. Rounding out the Birmingham Grove tournament with a 3-1 record. Opponents comprised of top-ranked Ann Arbor Skyline, Okemos, Sylvania of Ohio, Ann Arbor Pioneer and Dexter. The Bucs defeated Skyline allowing them to advance and go on  to defeat Dexter and Sylvania. Saturday ended with a loss to opposing bracket winner Okemos in the finals. On Monday, the Bucs hosted the Falcons of East Kentwood, cruising to an easy 14-2 victory.

Key contributors: Senior Logan Snider lead the Bucs with three goals against Ann Arbor Skyline and added four more against Dexter. While senior Cole Kramer also played well making plays on offense while leading the Bucs defense.

Key moment: The Bucs started off hot against East Kentwood scoring four goals within the first three minutes.

They said it: “The weekend tournament was very successful,” head coach Bill Hamm said. “We continued to show and improve a stingy defense. On the other side of the pool however, we did not limit our mistakes enough.  We were inconsistent in our passing and did not do a good job of protecting the ball.”

Up next: The Bucs travel to Hudsonville this Wednesday, Sept. 30 to take on a tough Eagles squad, then host the Wildcats of Jenison on Oct. 5.