Defending champ Fenwick looks strong against Pats

The Fenwick boys water polo team looked every bit like the defending state champs.

Stevenson looked like a young team facing the most formidable of challenges.

The result was a 19-5 victory for visiting Fenwick on Tuesday, but the Patriots were far from despondent after the loss in their season opener.

"It was rough tonight, but we have a lot of good young players and a really bright outlook," coach Sean Wimer said.

The Patriots were playing without three key players. Senior defender Ty Kuper was out with a lower-back strain, and they were also missing junior defender Grant Stevens and junior goalkeeper Adam Weisberger.

Stevens and Weisberger are both transfers, and their eligibility paperwork is in the final stages. The Patriots hope to have all three players in the pool when they play host to Mundelein at 6 p.m. Thursday in an early-season conference showdown.

"When you play against the state champs, the rest of the teams shouldn't be that hard," senior Ali Khan said.

With his team trailing 7-0 early in the second quarter, Khan scored Stevenson's first goal of the season on a shot from halfcourt. He was being guarded by senior Chris Wendt, who was named last season's state player of the year.

"I faked the pass; he looked one way and I took the shot," Khan said.

Khan added a goal in the fourth quarter.

"This is the best swimming shape he's been in," Wimer said. "Offensively, he established himself and held his position. There were a couple of times we couldn't get him the ball."

Senior Brad Feng put two balls in the net for the Patriots. Owen Yang also tallied.

"Brad (plays) composed," Wimer said. "He's one of the smaller guys in the pool, but he's very aggressive and stays after it."

Junior Alex Rembialkowski also impressed for Stevenson. He drew four kickouts.

At one point in the first half, Wendt scored 4 consecutive goals for Fenwick. He finished with a match-high 5 goals. Wendt will play for UCLA next season.

"He's one of the top three (prep) players in the country," Wimer said.

Fenwick enjoys a speed advantage over every team in the state.

"They're a pretty tough team to swim against," Feng said. "They're really smart and they look for the open players."

Fenwick routed Loyola Academy 23-4 on Monday.

"They'll get there," Fenwick coach Dave Perry said about Stevenson. "I'm sure we'll see a different team when we come here for their tournament in May."