By Les Gehrett
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Thursday, November 13, 2008 12:00 am
The West Albany boys and girls water polo teams are feeling the pressure as they prepare for the state semifinals on Friday.
But the pressure isn't coming from coaches, parents or fans. It comes from within.
Senior Logan Grossman, a two-time state tournament MVP, said it feels a little different this season as the Bulldog boys seek their third consecutive state championship.
"More pressure, because I don't have another opportunity to get another one," Grossman said.
Senior Kristin Warner faces a similar challenge as the girls seek to defend their championship.
"You want to end with a bang," Warner said.
The West Albany teams have put themselves in position to do exactly that. They rolled through the regular season and have dominated so far in the postseason.
The teams were so confident that in the quarterfinals, co-coaches Rob Romancier and Rob Nelke decided to lay back a little bit and not show their hand to potential opponents in the final four.
The girls team relied primarily on backups to win its quarterfinal match against South Albany two weeks ago.
The boys used a mix of starters and reserves, but didn't play any key players at their usual positions as they defeated Hillsboro in the quarterfinals.
The goal was to limit the usefulness of opponents' scouting.
"The less info you can give out, the better later on," Romancier said, adding that none of these strategic moves will matter if the teams don't bring their best effort to the semifinals.
The quarterfinals were followed by an extended break and both teams are anxious to get back into action after almost two full weeks of drills.
"The team spirit is so good and vibrant, I don't think the practices have lost any of their intensity," said junior Katya Soot.
The semifinals and finals will be played Friday and Saturday at the Osborn Aquatic Center in Corvallis. The facility is first-rate, but is a little bit different than most pools the teams see.
The pool is double-deep, meaning there is no shallow end, and more important, it has eight lanes instead of six. The bigger playing area makes things easier on offense, and tougher on defense as there is more space to cover.