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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels October 14, 2004 Grizz water polo keeps rolling By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland High boys' and girls' water polo teams didn't just make it look easy against the combined Medford squads, the matches just were a splash for the Grizzlies. Grizz Freshman Matt Lipiski toils against Medford. Lipiski scored once in the second quarterfor Ashland. Photos by Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings The Grizz boys' team dominated the Medford (0-6 Southern League) program 17-5, even though Ashland (8-6, 5-1 SL) threw a whole host of younger players into the pool so the second-stringers could get some experience. In the girls' match, Ashland (7-7, 5-1 SL) floated a 16-3 victory past Medford (2-4 SL) that included six blocked shots by sophomore goalie Corrina Morrison at the Jackson Wellsprings pool on Wednesday afternoon. "Medford is developing their teams, but they're doing really well," Grizz head coach Lara Bishop said. "They've come a long way since last year." Ashland also defeated Medford 12-1 on the boys' side and 11-0 in girls' action on Tuesday afternoon. The two doubleheaders mark the only water polo competition in southern Oregon this year, due to the Southern Oregon University pool closure. "It's nice to play at home instead of on the road," Grizz senior Geoff Berteau said. "But this pool is kind of a joke because the shallow end is too shallow." Quick work The Ashland boys shocked Medford with 7-0 run in the first period that led to an 11-3 halftime lead. Berteau led the Grizzlies with four goals, three in the first seven-minute stanza. Grizz team captain Ben Dawson tallied three goals and the junior also recorded five steals and two assists. Senior Andrew Del Carlo had five steals and junior Scott Sell contributed two assists. Ashland senior Alex Grimaldi was the only other multiple scorer for the Grizzlies. He had two goals. Seven other players nailed one goal apiece. For Medford, Cameron Gutherie scored twice in the second period and twice in the fourth to pace the visiting squad. "We've just had a stronger water polo team," Berteau said. "What I really liked was seeing our younger players get a chance to play and get some experience for years to come." Another lopsided affair Not to be upstaged by the boys' team, the Ashland girls went right to work. The Grizzlies established a 6-1 lead after one period, hung in there and the scored six more goals in the final stanza in a balanced attack that saw five players contribute points. Senior Ursula Barton scored more points than any player, male or female, on the afternoon. Barton had seven goals, in addition to five assists and four steals. Junior Julia Coke and senior Hannah Bergstrom were Ashland's other multiple scorers. Coke had four goals, four assists and six steals while Bergstrom threw in three goals. "Julia and Ursula are two of the best players in the state," Bishop explained, adding that the pair was recently invited to tryout for the Junior Olympic team. Ashland will now travel back to Eugene for another five-match weekend next week, the final round of games before the conference tournament. "They're working together and communicating," Bishop said of her teams, which both have state tournament aspirations. "We've beat everybody in our conference except South Eugene." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams