It turns out another local water polo team made a splash at the National Junior Olympics Aug. 2-8 in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
The Stanford Junior 16-and-under boys team, which featured six members from St. Francis High, took fifth overall. Last week, the Town Crier highlighted the 14-and-under girls and 18-and-under boys, who finished fourth and second, respectively.
The Stanford 16s went 4-2 in their division, which was comprised of 35 top teams from across the country.
"It was a pretty good performance," said driver Matt Garner, who plays for St. Francis. "We didn't know much about the teams we played, but we still did a good job."
The Stanford squad owned the pool the first day, winning all three of its games by wide margins. The team ran into trouble the second day, though, losing to a strong San Clemente club.
Stanford recovered the next day, pulling out a narrow victory against San Diego Shores. But in the quarterfinals, Maryland-based Navy eliminated Stanford from the competition.
"We played Navy close in the beginning," Garner said. "But they were faster than us and they ended it up winning by three or four goals."
For the tourney, St. Francis' Steve Lipinski led Stanford in scoring. Floyd Tucker of Hawaii played in goal all six games.
Other local members of the Stanford team included St. Francis players Sam Canning, Ryan Duffy, John Heringer and Geoff McCann. The team was guided by St. Francis coach Terry O'Donnell and Palo Alto High grad Mike Merwin.
Several players on the team accompanied the Stanford 18s on a tour of Europe last month. There, the boys gained international experience against high-caliber teams from Czechoslovakia, Germany and Hungary.