Sports
Ladue Water Polo Nabs A Pair Of Wins At Lafayette Tournament
After opening the season 0-5, Ladue's water polo team posted its first two victories at the Lafayette Invitational tournament this weekend.
The first few weeks of the 2011 schedule have been challenging for the water polo team, but they saw some success at a tournament hosted by Lafayette this weekend.
The Rams entered the tournament 0-5, after drawing SLUH and De Smet for their first two games, and then heading to Chicago for a tournament of top regional teams.
Despite the lack of victories, Ladue coach Corey Miller expects better things from his squad. And, after dropping the tournament opener to De Smet on Thursday, the Rams knocked off Parkway North and Lafayette in convincing fashion, before falling 11-9 to Parkway West, in a close game Saturday afternoon.
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The bracket results put Ladue in the third place game against MICDS on Saturday night, which they lost 8-7 in another tight contest.
Miller had hoped for a better performance than fourth place, but was pleased with the Rams' overall play, and pointed to a pair of players who were solid at Lafayette, and should continued to produce well this season, in junior Forest Donnell, and senior Mark Perkins.
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Donnell was dominant against Lafayette in the Rams' third game of the tournament, scoring six goals, and positioning the offense for several fast breaks.
"We played pretty well today, more along the lines of our capabilities, and our goalie, Danny (Magruder, junior), was outstanding...it shows our potential, and if we keep it up we should be able to get back on track," said Donnell.
Ladue played without senior Max Wahl, who is considered a major contributor, and Miller expects the team to improve further with his return.
"When we come out and play the type of game we should play we can compete with most teams in the area...Max helps us shot down our opponent's offensively, and getting him back will be a boost," said Miller.
The Rams enter the Founders Cup Tournament next week, with games against Clayton, University City, and Kirkwood in the opening rounds. Conference play begins soon after, as Parkway Central visits on April 11, followed by a trip to MICDS on April 13.