Patriots preparing for state tourney test

The Stevenson boys and girls water polo teams have taken a business like approach to practice this week.

Sure, they are thrilled to have won sectionals and qualified for the state tournament. But they are well aware there are plenty of goals left to accomplish.

"We celebrated Saturday and then it was back to work," senior Greg Spigelman said. "(Practices) this week have been pretty much normal."

All state tournament matches will be played at Stevenson. The boys team meets Naperville Central at 4:30 p.m. today in a state quarterfinal. The girls team faces Fremd at 5:45 p.m. Friday.

"It's the best facility in the state of Illinois; that's why the state tournament is here," Stevenson girls coach Jeff Wimer said. "It will be fantastic. There's nothing like playing at home."

Players on both teams are expecting large and enthusiastic crowds.

"We've been (promoting it) by word of mouth and Facebook," Spigelman said.

The boys team (17-14) had to work a lot harder than the girls to advance out of the sectional tournament. The boys edged Mundelein 8-7 in the title match.

When they last played in the regular season, the Patriots topped Naperville Central 7-6.

"Naperville Central is a big, fast and physical team," Sean Wimer said. "They have a number of shooters and they played hard. Our guys responded and it was an interesting game to say the least."

Spigelman controlled play down the stretch against Mundelein.

"He's realizing he's the best player in the pool 95 percent of the time," Sean Wimer said. "He's found his rhythm."

The Patriots were soundly defeated by Brother Rice last year in the state quarterfinals.

"The atmosphere and intensity is a huge factor; you know that every kid there can play and will be as fired up as you," Spigelman said. "I think we (learned) a lot last year and that experience helped a lot. We won't be as jittery."

• The Stevenson girls (27-6) dominated Mundelein 17-5 in Saturday's sectional final. The Patriots received big offensive performances from Rachel Cliburn (6 goals) and Amy Michelau (6 goals).

The Patriots placed fourth in last year's state tournament, and they only lost two seniors from that team.

"It's a very seasoned and experienced group of girls," Jeff Wimer said. "They learned a lot last year and are looking forward to this opportunity."