After months of continuous bouts and trials, the St. Louis U. High water polo team has at last emerged at the top, securing the number one seed going into the postseason tournament. The Jr. Bills have now toppled two state champions, vanquishing the number one ranked team in Illinois earlier this year, then defeating Missouri’s former victors Parkway West last week. In the culminating game of the Lindbergh tournament, after putting down the likes of CBC, Ladue, and De Smet, the Jr. Bills dominated the P. West Longhorns 15-6 to win the game and tournament with a perfect 4-0 record. After a hard fought weekend, the boys in blue closed up the regular season with a Senior Night victory against MICDS, and then a close loss in a Parkway West rematch.

On April 23, the final games of the Lindbergh tournament, the SLUH squad was faced with two matches, DeSmet in the morning and West in the afternoon. Despite Parkway decidedly being the better team, the Jr. Bills had a closer game with De Smet, only winning 11-7.

“We were probably a little too focused on the next game, and not that game,” said head coach John Penilla. “We were just not 100 percent locked in. We knew what they were going to do,  but we didn’t always adjust to it. We weren’t very dynamic in that way.”

The morning’s poor performance was soon forgotten as the  Jr. Bills sought vengeance for last year’s misfortune. Senior Cooper Scharff winning the first swim off led to an early advantage, allowing the squad to gain momentum and score the first two goals of the game. The Bills were on a roll with senior Zach Brugnara and Scharff piercing through the opposition’s front line, sophomore Aiden Brawer feeding them assists, and senior captain Sam French, junior captain Joe Zarilli, and senior goalie Nick Figge putting up an impenetrable defense.

“(The boys) kept their mistakes down to a minimum (and) they played as a team,” said assistant coach Dan Schulte. “We’ve talked about (the Parkway game) all year; everyone that was in the water, everyone that was on the bench, they knew their role and they played it well.”

At half the boys in blue were up 10-1, an unprecedented lead against a team that hadn’t lost since 2019.

“I was able to play better with my team than I had in any other game,” said Brugnara. “The chemistry was really there. After those first two goals I think I was just in the zone. I felt like scoring and I just did it.”

The final score was 15-7, with Scharff (seven goals) and Brugnara (six) leading the team to its first tournament victory of the season.

“We played the way we're able to. I mean, it’s not really a secret. It’s how we’re capable of playing, and we did,” said Penilla.

Coming off of a triumphant victory, SLUH had a battle against MICDS the following Monday. In senior night fashion, seniors Angad Gothra, Dennis McDaniel, Adam Fennewald, Jonas Hostetler, and captain Connor Buehring got the opportunity to start the game off strong. Hostestler sped through the water to secure goal after goal, like a ravenous shark tearing through a school of fish. Furthermore, Gothra scored the longest goal of the SLUH season, pulling up from about half and putting a nasty lob shot into the back of the net.

“Honestly I had a lot of confidence (taking the shot). I’ve been taking a lot of those shots in practice, so it's kind of muscle memory by now,” said Gothra. “I’m just that good.”

To close out the regular season, the SLUH squad had to face off against Parkway West one last time. Despite beating them by nine goals four days earlier, the Jr. Bills fell to the Longhorns 11-9. After a long day at school, in a six lane pool with a shallow end, as well as the loudest environment known to man, a loss by only two goals is not enough to crush SLUH’s spirit. The state high school athletic association agreed, and gave the St. Louis U. High team the first seed in the upcoming state tournament.

“(Going into the postseason) it’ll be more of the same,” said Penilla. “Playing Parkway West there were some really specific things that we just didn’t do well, like if we scored a couple five-meters, if we looked a little better on six-on-fives, if we defend them the way I think we can, it's a different outcome. Those are really little things; small attention to detail, but thinking about these last practices we don’t need two hours of practice. We just need to focus on a handful of things and do them well.”