After the Lions’ varsity water polo squad captured the Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (TISCA) state championship on Oct. 11, the team traveled to California for the prestigious Steve Pal Memorial Tournament where they won three straight games before falling in the final. In the TISCA state championship, the Lions steamrolled past Dallas Consolidated 17-4 in the semifinal game, then dominated Houston United 14-5 in the championship for the program’s seventh straight state title.
The week after the championship, the team headed west to California, winning three straight games in the early rounds of the Steve Pal Memorial Tournament and entered the final with on an impressive run. Facing the Garces Memorial school in the championship game, the Lions’ entered the fourth quarter with a 5-4 lead, but after a series of errors and mishaps, the Lions’ suffered a narrow 7-6 defeat, though they still finished as the runner-up for one of the nation’s most important tournaments. For senior water polo athletes, the loss was devastating. Ending their season and, for most, their water polo career in defeat was not the ending they hoped for; it was painful. Yet for lowerclassmen, the loss was equally as shattering.
Junior Tyson Diep feels the bitterness of the loss but also sees the success of the season as a whole.
“It was disappointing that we lost our last game; I think we definitely could have won it. I know our seniors were very sad about it,” Diep said. “But I don’t think that one game should define our season. I think we had a very successful season — we went undefeated in the state; we only lost three games total out of state. I’m looking forward to next year and seeing what happens.”
