Clayton Water Polo Team Looks to Rebound Monday After Founder's Cup Struggles

The Spartans water polo juggernaut cruised to first place in the Founder’s Cup held between Tuesday and Saturday at various area schools, including Clayton, Ladue and University City.

, headed up by area water polo legend Wally Lundt, eased into a seventh-place finish Saturday by defeating the Lions, 15-10.

Coaches at the event identified Lundt as having brought water polo to the area decades ago. They said he also had a hand in having coached, at some point, every competitor in the tournament, including most of the coaches.

Lundt was down to earth in reflecting on his team’s performance in the tournament.

“We took seventh here, and fourth last weekend at the Summit tournament, so it was a little disappointing," Lundt said. "But we did not play as well as we could have, and we were a little off our game."

The Greyhounds count Brett Downey as a top performer this season, and Lundt said he thinks the senior can help the team handle its difficult upcoming schedule.

Clayton has several big games ahead, including a match at on Monday and a rematch with University City on April 19. It will face the Spartans on April 26.

The eight-team tournament featured schools from across the area. It began with a round-robin format followed by finals in the championship and consolation brackets.

The Spartans won all six games the played, and they outscored their opponents, 86-29.

De Smet’s smothering defensive pressure enabled its prodigious offensive output by creating numerous turnovers and subsequent fast breaks, engineered by goalkeeper Matt Brethorst.

“We practice that all the time and teach the guys to recognize when it’s time to help, and we’re starting to execute on it better as a plan … we did a better job today of recognizing when the ball does come into the opponent’s center, we have to play it no matter what it leads to—a turnover, a foul, a goal—no matter what, we have to play it,” De Smet coach Miguel Figueras said.

, which finished in fourth place after losing to in the third-place contest, posted back-to-back wins in its opening matches, defeating University City, 11-6, and Clayton, 13-9.

The Pioneers secured a spot in the championship bracket by defeating on Friday night, 11-7, and earned the right to face De Smet the next morning. They conceded a 17-7 loss.

“We’re excited about our effort in this tournament. We always consider the Founder’s Cup a key competition, and we’d like to have contained the counterattacks a little better, but our team did well overall, our guys are really pumped,” Kirkwood coach Reza Behnam said.

Kirkwood saw big contributions from junior Zack Smith, freshman Geoffrey Berger, and senior Zach Hawkins, who captains the Pioneers.

Oakville’s play at the Founder’s Cup did not produce anything comparable to last year’s first-place finish, but the team is rebuilding around a core of younger players, beginning with sophomore goalkeeper Denis Galic.

“Denis’ older brother (Dino) was all-district last year, and he graduated, but I’ve had several coaches come up and say how well Dino is playing, and I’ve had to point out that it’s his younger brother,” Oakville coach Dan Schoenfeldt said.

Injuries have plagued the Tigers this season. But senior Andrew Shelton has been another standout. He notched 15 goals in the tournament as Oakville posted a fifth-place finish by defeating Fort Zumwalt West, 12-10.

University City hosted a set of games for the Founder’s Cup, and coach Tony Thomas looked at his team’s last-place finish philosophically and pragmatically following the Lions’ loss to Clayton.

“We have several players who really have just been getting acclimated with the fundamentals, in terms of swimming ability, basics of the game and the rules, and I’m encouraged by our level of competition despite the result,” Thomas said.

The Lions had momentary flashes of brilliance: During the first quarter, for example, they drew even with the veteran-coached Greyhounds.

University City’s goalkeeper, junior Dante McKinnie, turned away several point-blank shots resulting in turnovers, but the Lions made several errant passes and got shut down quickly in transition.

Overall, the Lions' effort reflected a team in the early building stage of a water polo program, but Thomas looked to Lawrence McCadney and Cedric Rutlin as potential leaders for the team in 2012.