The Saline Reporter
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Saline water polo looking for big things
Silverman hopes mix of experience, potential leads to state berth
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 15, 2007
With a new, reorganized district and plenty of returning talent, could this be the year that the Saline girls' water polo team breaks through and qualifies for the state tournament for the first time?
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Third-year coach Brad Silverman thinks that if the Hornets continue developing and peak late in the season, that answer could be "yes."
"If we play up to our potential at the right time," he said following Monday's first team practice, "I do think we could get into states. But we've got a long way to go."
The first step on that road will come as soon as Wednesday, when the Hornets open their season hosting new district foe Grand Blanc.
Given that postseason seeding will be based on how well the Hornets perform in key district contests like the Grand Blanc match and at home against Birmingham Groves March 26, Saline has precious little time to prepare. But Silverman believes his team will be ready regardless.
"These are very, very important games for us," he said. "We believe they'll be very competitive."
Helping the Hornets' cause will be several experienced and talented returning players.
Senior Ashley Mulder likely will be the team's "offensive focus," Silverman said, but she'll have help from two-meter player Lindsey DeHaan, senior captain Emily Vizza and Anne-Marie Giardina.
"They'll form the core of what we're trying to do," Silverman said.
Defensively, the team will rely on senior Katie Kerch to shoulder the critical task of defending the opposing two-meter player.
"She's going to have to come up big for us in a lot of games," Silverman said.
The team also should have goalkeeping as one of its strengths, with senior Sammy Haller returning and Sam Crichton available as well.
"This is one area where over the last year we've seen tremendous improvement," Silverman said. "I'm excited to see how well they're going to do."
Another strength, Silverman said, will be the incoming freshman class, which he expects to be "as strong as any we've had for several years … there's a lot of potential there."
With the season starting so soon, that potential will have to develop in a hurry. But in the end, the pieces should add up to a successful season.
"We're going to play some difficult games, some competitive games, and some games we should win handily," Silverman said. "We have the numbers and the returning players to be very competitive."
With players yet to be assigned to either varsity or junior varsity teams, a full roster was unavailable as of press time.
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