It wasn’t too long ago that soccer wasn’t played in every high school. Now it’s rampant across the Texas landscape and new sports such as lacrosse, rugby and water polo have emerged. While water polo was introduced to Strake Jesuit in 1984, it was only four years ago that the Crusaders had their first pool built.

  Fourteen water polo teams from the greater Houston area are headed to Austin this weekend for the 2008 Texas High School Water Polo Coaches Association Championships. The championships will take place all day Friday and Saturday at the University of Texas.

    The second day of the Houston Water Polo’s Jalapeno League Division II tournament at Strake Jesuit saw a tight boys 18-and-under championship game, while the girls game was delayed because of rain. In the boys title match, Bayou (a combined team of Stratford and Jersey Village players) had to hold off a final charge by a gritty Tomball team.

  The Greater Houston Water Polo Jalapeno Championship Tournament at Strake Jesuit has turned into a duel between two top area squads the past two days. Monday, the Lone Star team from Clear Lake and Dirty Bay from Baytown split the two championships, with Dirty Bay winning the boys 18-and-under championship and Lone Star winning the girls title.

    One reason Lamar swimming coach S.R.

  Region IV Water Polo players are making their way to Austin next week.

              The water polo season may be coming to an end, but it’s definitely not over yet.

            The Texas Classic water polo tournament finished up Saturday night as the men and women from Baytown Sterling took home the first place trophies.

    The first annual Spring Branch Water Polo Tournament took place on Saturday at the Spring Branch Natatorium.

      Championship play is Saturday for both men and women at the three-day Strake Jesuit Water Polo Invitational.

  When you think of Greater Houston’s premier water polo teams, Baytown Sterling is likely to come up in the conversation. The Ranger program has earned seven titles since the late 70s and the school’s wall is graced with several All-State and All-American plaques. One of the names on the plaques is athlete Zayne Belal.

 Baytown Sterling vs.

    Strake Jesuit played host to the Jalapeno League Friday morning as water polo clubs from the Greater Houston Area tested their skill against each other at the outdoor facilities. The men’s and women’s  leagues, comprised of the Dirty Bay Aquatics, Jesuit WPC, Bay Area Dorados, Lone Star WPF, and Cy Fair WPC, present swimmers with an opportunity to try their hand at a sport which favors their comfort level in the water. “Our kids come from all over.

      The 2007 Jalapeno League Division I 18 & Under Girls played all day Friday at Clear Lake High School.

       Greater Houston Summer Water Polo Jalapeno League kicked off its first week of competitive action with the boys playing four games each  at Baytown Sterling Friday morning.

  As the Houston-area water polo coaches embark on the 3rd Annual Ben Garcia Memorial Water Polo Tournament, fond memories of the young athlete will continue for years to come.

      The sun was shining over the brand new Strake Jesuit Aquatic Center on Thursday afternoon.

    The Spring Branch boys and girls Water Polo season has begun.

  In their last league game of the season, the Orange Panthers hosted the Katella Knights Friday afternoon.  The Panthers quickly showed up and took scoring control in the beginning of the game.  By half time, the Panthers were strenghtened to a 6-2 lead over the Knights.  The Knights had difficulty getting into a solid shooting position in the third period, and were subsequently only able to gain one goal.  Also slow to score in the third, the Panthers kept to only two goals.  However, the crowd was drawn to their feet when the Panther’s goal keeper was able to score from across the pool.  This left the Panthers in an 8-3 lead at the end of the third.

  Spartans take the league championship The Villa Park Spartans hosted El Modena Tuesday afternoon.  To begin the game, the Spartans went on a scoring rampage in which they shut out El Modena from scoring.  Up by six going into the second period, the Spartans became loose and less aggressive due to their lead in scoring.  El Modena had a difficult time shooting on offense as their shots were not strong or aggressive.  Rather, the girls seemed to lob the ball towards the goal which proved an easy shot for Spartan goalie Lacie Fisher to block.  Finally, late in the second period the Spartan defense lost its touch as El Modena’s Karla Bryant began taking strong shots which led her to score back to back goals.  At half time, the Spartans were up with an 8-2 lead.

  Varsity After a win Tuesday against Orange, Santa Ana Valley traveled to play El Modena Thursday afternoon.  Scoring from both teams remained close in the first half of play.  However, in the third period El Modena locked in their offense and began to gain a lead over Valley.

The Orange Panthers hosted Santa Ana Valley in a water polo match Tuesday afternoon.  With a forceful offensive, Valley dominated throughout the game and quickly gained a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.

  Los Alamitos, CA  – Servite water polo, the 2005-2006 CIF Division II Champions, played a fierce game against Los Alamitos this evening. Beginning the game with a 5 on 6 defensive strategy, Servite appeared confident in a victory as the score at half time was 5-1.