Scouting DuPage County boys water polo
Top local teams: Naperville Central, Waubonsie Valley, Neuqua Valley, Naperville North.
Top games: Hinsdale Central at Neuqua Valley, March 16; Fenwick Dan Lynch Classic, March 17-19, Metea Valley at Neuqua Valley, March 22; Waubonsie Valley at Naperville Central, March 22; Naperville North Varsity Invitational, April 9; Neuqua Valley at Naperville North, April 12; Waubonsie Valley at Hinsdale Central, April 13; Naperville Central Best of the West Tournament, April 15-16; York at Hinsdale South, April 18; Fenwick Quad, April 23; Oak Park-River Forest at Hinsdale Central, April 25; Naperville Central at Homewood-Flossmoor, April 28; Naperville Central at Latin, Naperville North at Hinsdale South, May 2; May 3; York at Hinsdale Central, May 3.
Top players: Kristian Altuve (Naperville Central, Sr.), Kyle Apple (Waubonsie Valley, Sr.), Kevin Cordes (Neuqua Valley, Sr.), Kevin Delahanty (York, Sr.), John Gibson (Hinsdale Central, Sr), Jack Henderson (Naperville North, Sr.), Dennis Herron (Naperville Central, Jr.), Alex Hogenboom (Naperville North, Sr.), Blake Hollis (Waubonsie Valley, Sr.), Jay Howenstine (Naperville Central, Sr.), Tyler Hunt (Waubonsie Valley, Sr.), Luke Jocewicz (Hinsdale South, Jr.), Aaron Katz (Naperville North, Junior), Drake Kinney (Hinsdale Central, Jr.), Strati Koulouris (Hinsdale Central, Sr.), David Lesniak (Neuqua Valley, Sr.), Pat May (Naperville Central, Sr.), Andrew Piggott (Hinsdale South, Sr.), Joe Poletto (Waubonsie Valley, Jr.), AJ Quebbeman (Neuqua Valley, Sr.), John Rafferty (York, Sr.), Kyle Rickert (Naperville Central, Sr.), Pat Stablein (Naperville Central, Sr.), Conor Williams (Hinsdale Central, Sr.), Cameron Weber (Metea Valley, Jr.).
Outlook: When it comes to boys water polo in Chicagoland, Fenwick is the New York Yankees, Boston Celtics and Pittsburgh Steelers all wrapped into one. The Friars have won the last seven state championships.
If there was one team with the size and athleticism to dethrone the Friars in 2010, it was Naperville Central. The Redhawks lost a thrilling state final to Fenwick 11-8 last May, but a strong core of players from that second-place team returns in 2011.
The Redhawks return high scoring senior Kyle Rickert.
“Rickert has a lot of size, speed and knowledge,” Naperville Central coach Bill Salentine said. “It's good to have an all-state player returning.”
The Redhawks play one of the toughest regular-season schedules in the state and will look for seniors Pat May and Kristian Altuve for extended leadership.
A growing rivalry that is sure to hit full-stride once again this season is Naperville Central vs. Waubonsie Valley.
The Warriors' outstanding season in 2010 saw them fall just one game short of the state tournament (after losing to the Redhawks in the sectional final). “We made a jump in sectionals to be runners-up,” said Warrior coach Luke Payette. “This year we are looking to get past them and get to state.”
The Redhawks' trip to Waubonsie on March 22 is an early-season showdown that will unquestionably carry a playoff-like intensity.
Naperville North is facing the heavy burden of replacing Austin Katz, the single-season scoring leader in program history. His 146 plus goals in 2010 was an all-time high.
Luckily for the Huskies, Katz's younger brother Aaron is only a junior. Senior captain's Alex Hogenboom and Jack Henderson will look to take the Huskies past the sectional quarterfinals, where they ended their season last May.
Neuqua Valley had its season end in dramatic fashion last May after a 14-12 overtime loss to archrival Waubonsie in the sectional semifinal. The Wildcats bring back seniors David Lesniak and AJ Quebbeman this season and renew their rivalry with Waubonsie on March 17.
Hinsdale Central returns eight of 14 varsity letterman from a team that finished 12-19 last season. Playing in such a highly competitive conference will give the Red Devils regular-season experience against some of the state's stiffest competition (i.e., Oak Park-River Forest and Lyons).
“It is going to take a very solid season, with a lot of bumps along the way to become successful in either our conference or our sectional,” coach Martin Bell said.
Playing in that same difficult conference is York, and things will be especially challenging for the Dukes this season. They lost all six starters plus their goalie from last year.
“We have a few players who have been on varsity, but no returning starters,” coach Mark Forde said. “They have some big shoes to fill.”
Hinsdale South is in a similar situation to the Dukes. The Hornets went 7-21 last season and have only one returning senior, Andrew Piggott. Piggott played goalie in 2010.
Entering their first season as a varsity program is Metea Valley. The Mustangs had just seven players on their JV last season but have tripled that amount of players in a positive sign for things to come in 2011.
The Mustangs will play in a brand new pool this season. Last year Metea's program had its efforts hampered by the chore of traveling to Waubonsie for every practice and game.
— Casey Callanan