NationStates Jolt Archive

Martentopis had been training in water-polo ever since an ancient king sent many youths into the navy. With not much to do at sea, they did water polo!!
Now Martentopis is hosting Nation States's first Water Polo competition. The results of all matches will all be graded on the amount of RPing the nation conducted before the match. All people who do not RP often enough shall thus get out of the competion fairly quickly.

When you sign up, please also write if other players may:
God mod injuries
God mod other aspects

of your players.
Sign-ups are closed!
Depending on how many people want to join, several groups will get created. Each group shall have 2 winners, who will eventually climb their way to the top and get the world cup water polo trophy!!!

The following are the venues where the matches shall take place:

Martentopiano East Pool- In this pool, the annual Martentopis water polo league finals take place. About 5000 people may be seated, and another 2000 standing up.

Martentopiano West Pool- Although not as great as it's fellow on the east, MWP is another one of the greatest olympic-sized pools in Martentopis. capacity: seated 3,750 standing 2,500

Sambarg International- This pool was one of the first olympic sized, international pools in Martentopis, and has hosted many friendly games. capacity: seated 4,500 standing 1,000

Sambarg IncrediAqua- This is the major pool for amateur pay-offs in Martentopis, but it is still olympic quality. capacity: seated 3,000 standing 2,000

Floating Pool- This incredible feat of engineering floats off Martentopiano. It contains many extra features as well, including a fun-park and a casino. capacity: seated 2,000 standing 3,500

Martentopis is looking forward to host the up-coming Water Polo World Cup!!! See you soon!

Okay, these are the goups and the schedule:
GROUP A
Liverpool England
Quakmybush
Reformed salt

GROUP B
Londim
Sarzonia
Kelse

GROUP C
Milchama
GarfieldtheFat
Ravea


Schedule:
Group Stage
Day 1: LiverpoolEngland VS. Quakmybush(A) Londim VS. Sarzonia(B)
Day 2: Sarzonia VS. Kelse(B) Milchama VS. GarfeildtheFat(C)
Day 3: GarfieldtheFat VS. Ravea(C) Quakmybush VS. Reformed Salt(A)
Day 4: Reformed Salt VS. LiverpoolEngland(A) Kelse VS. Londim(B) Ravea VS. Milchama(C)

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: Sarzonia VS. Kelse(B) LiverpoolEngland VS. Quakmybush(A)
Day 7: Kelse VS. Londim(B) Ravea VS. Milchama(C)
Day 8: LiverpoolEngland VS. Reformed Salt(A) GarfieldtheFat VS. Ravea(C)
Day 9: Quakmybush VS. Reformed Salt(A) Londim VS. Sarzonia(B) Milchama VS. GarfeildtheFat(C)

The winner of every group may pass into the Final Group

Remember!!! You will only win if you RP a lot!!! Keep it in mind!!!

Water polo has not become a professional sport in Sarzonia, but enough college players have been rounded up to begin national team trials. Therefore, Sarzonia are in.

With our success in the Ylompics the Milchamians are glad to sign up.

After achieving a bronze in both the Mens' and Womens' Water Polo competition at the Ylompics, Kelse would like to further it's international Water Polo reputation by signing up for the World Water Polo League.

OOC: My nation is spelled Sarzonia.

I deny permission to Godmode anything.

I'm sorry, sarzonia. I must have hit the wrong key!!!

Sure, what the heck, we'll send a bunch of amateurs.

I just need four more nations for the tournament to go ahead!! Please feel free to join!!

We sign up

we are in

Ravea will enter the contest as well.

One more nation and we have enough!! 5 more would be great!

The Democratic Republic of Londim will send a team for this Water Polo competition. I deny permission for Godmodding

sign-ups are now closed unless atleast four more nations sign-up before tommorow, which i beleive is pretty unlikely.

Reformed Salt has always held water polo in a spot dear to its heart. Should more nations join, we at Reformed Salt would be glad to send our national team to compete.

Id you hold it so dear, i might make an exception. I'll see.

We would like to play

Should we be invited, we will be sending our star coach, Marco Tynberson, and I warn you, he's been known for sabotaging opponent's transportation in an effort to delay them. We are just that serious about water polo here.

I'm sorry, 10 or 11 nations doesn't really work out. 12 would be fine, though.

I'd also like to ask people to send their rosters (and please do some research about water polo before you send them, we don't want people having 10 attackers and 10 defenders, which is not water polo).

Roster

Goalkeeper - Trey Gard

Point man - Jimmy Hars

Drivers - Harry Pilk
- Liam Jorge

Wings - Melanie Gruer
- Mickie Joe

Center Forward- Paul Jin

Could'a swon I signed up?

Wiell I am signing up now

Sorry, Virginia Nova, i think it's a bit too late. We already put the schedule together.

Quakmybush Roster

Goalkeeper - Greg Freut
Point man - Aders Drank
Drivers - Fred Tunt, Kris Hert
Wings - Pop Sil, Quinn Germian
Center Forward- Dan Trather

bump

This is Harry Cole from the TSN water polo network. Quakmybushes national Water polo team will be playing in the 1st annual world water polo league. Their chances are looking good since very few teams have any experience. The team is very young with an average age of 25, and they will be looking to win. Good Luck Boys!

Kelse Mens' National Water Polo Roster

Goalkeeper - Gilles Duceppe
Point-Man - René Fortier
Drivers - Jean-Philippe Darche, Éric Lapointe
Wings - David Takahara
Center Forward - Jacques Cossette

Excerpt From The Montréal Nautical
In other sporting news, the Kelse Mens' National Water Polo Team kicks off its pre-Olympic season by participating in the World Water Polo League and Cup, hosted by Martentopis. After winning a bronze at the Tyrellian Ylompics, Kelse hopes to further its Water Polo recognition at Martentopis and to practice for the upcoming Olympics in Casari, as the National Water Polo Program is going for gold in both the Mens' and Womens' competition. At the group draw, the team was drawn into Group B with Londim and Sarzonia, both teams who center forward Jacques Cossette look forward to playing. "I don't know if we'll see 'em at the Olympics, but from what I hear they're pretty good and i'm happy theres some competition." The team kicks off its run on Day 2 of the tournament against Sarzonia. For times and showing, please check your local listings.

so when are the games gunna start

The first results will appear tommorow!!! remeber to RP and win the competition!!

The first matches shall be:
LiverpoolEngland VS. Quakmybush
Londim VS. Sarzonia

I shall telgram them to warn them.

This is Harry Cole from the TSN water polo network. The games will finally get underway tommorrow as Quakmybush will take on LiverpoolEngland for the opener. The team will try to get Quakmybush's first ever Water Polo win in their first ever water polo game. Although very few people will be watching due to the f1 race and Quakmybush world cup qualifier it will be a good game.

Sarzonia to begin water polo exploits

25 June 2006 (ASP) -- Even though water polo in Sarzonia is a limited competition sport usually confined to the warmer climates, enough players have been culled together from the two six team college leagues to form "some semblance of a national team," said Harry Langdon, the coach of the Benatar City College team.

"Fortunately, water polo doesn't require nearly as much equipment as, say gridball," Landon said. "Nor does it require the same number of players as that sport does. Thus, we're able to get a group together without breaking the bank."

The team began training just a month before it was scheduled to begin group play in the World Water Polo League. Langdon was chosen as the team's first-ever head coach and said the time in training with all-star players from the 12 university programmes wasn't an enormous drain on his time.

"Our season just ended two months ago," Langdon said. "We've been in the process of recruiting for next season, but we normally don't need to devote that much time to it. There's usually a slow period in the offseason and this usually is it. Instead of going on holiday for two or three months and bugging the heck out of my wife, I'm doing something productive and getting a stipend for it."

The players, who generally go to swimming pools in their local areas to stay in shape also welcomed the opportunity to compete on the world stage.

"This gives me a chance to continue to play a sport I love and to see the world," said driver Kyle Longberry. "I mean who wouldn't want that?" Longberry is realistic about getting the sport enough exposure in a saturated Sarzonian sporting market to warrant enough interest to establish a professional league.

"Maybe if we win the tournament," he said. "Right now, it's all about a bunch of guys who are out there in the pool having fun playing a game. If we win the World Water Polo League, maybe that'll give us something else to work with. But I don't know."

The collegiate conferences that participate in water polo generally are in the southern and western parts of Sarzonia, parts that are usually warmer climates than in the north or east. Woodstock University considered establishing a water polo team to compete independently, but could neither find enough players or put together a schedule with the 19 universities that compete in the sport.

"It's something we've wanted to do because Woodstock University draws people from all over the country," said the university's athletic director Greg Gordon. "However, when we advertised for open tryouts, only eight players signed up. That would leave maybe one substitute for any of the six field players or the goalkeeper and that's not enough to form a team." Sarzonian collegiate water polo rules specify a minimum roster of 10 players to field a team.

Langdon said the team's goals for the World Water Polo League were modest.

"Just enough to get some interest in the sport and maybe have a few kids who want to play it beyond rec leagues," he said. "We've got to think small unless we can somehow give people a reason to think big. We're probably going to be going up against professionals. If we can do well enough, maybe it will draw a little more interest."

Maybe then Woodstock University will be able to field a team next season.

Londim Sports Network: Water Polo League

"Good evening viewers. I am Pete Reis here at the Londim Sports Network. Our top story tonight. It is the eve of the Water Polo League and Londim will be playing on the opening day. They are playing the nation of Sarzonia. Our nation has only started its own Water Polo league last year with the champions being the Resa Reeds. This sport has already become big in our nation with it becoming part of the Physical Education programme in all schools and also amateur teams are appearing up and down the country. Well lets look at our team for tomorrows match:

First we have the goalkeeper Trey Gard. He is the goalkeeper for the Libt Lakers who finished second in the Londim Water Polo League.

The Point man is Jimmy Hars. He is known to be a bit of a loose cannon but we know he gets the job done. He plays for the Pino Pirates and is known as Jimmy Hurt due to the number of injuries he has caused.

The Drivers are Liam Jorge and Harry Pilk. They both play for the Resa Reeds and their partnership as drivers are second to none. They should provide excellent cover and also set up many attacks.

Wingers are Melanie Gruer and Mickie Joe the two women of the team. They may look innocent and sweet but these two are some of the fierciest wingers in Londim. Melanie plays for The Kindon Divers and Mickie plays for Fresna Ice.

Finally our Centre Forward is Paul Jin. He is the top scorer in the Championship at the age of 19. He also plays for the Libt Lakers. We here have high hopes for him.

Also today the team held press conference to address the world. Our reporter Tina Sikes was there. Over to you Tina."

"Thanks Pete. The team gave a press conference ahead of tomorrows match to show how serious they are about the competition. Here is some footage of that Press Conference."

"Hello there. I'm Tina Sikes from the Londim Sports Network. I jut wanted to ask a few questions."

Sure go ahead Tina. Fire away.

Thanks. First question. How are you all feeling abot tomorrows match?


Nervous ( a few chuckles from the crowd here) but we are excited about this. This is our first major tournament for us and the same applies for the whole of Londim. We're all fit and healthy and have been training like made to perfect our plays.

Excellent. So what do you think of the opponents Sarzonia?

We believe that we are on a level playing field with them. For both our nations this is the first Water Polo League. We know we have to do our best and more because if we underestimate any of our opponents then we've had it.

Final Question. What do you think of Martentopis?


It's a great place. The people are friendly and the atmosphere is very peaceful but with a buzz in the air at the same time. Wherever we go the people treat us as if we have bee their friends for life and we love the environment. Really helps you relax before a big game.

Thanks guys and behalf of all us at the Londim Sport Network and Londim itself we wish you all the best.

"As you can see from the clip the team is in excellent condition and are psyched about tomorrows match. Back to you Pete.

"Thanks Tina. And to the guys and girls of the Londim Water Polo team good luck."

Sorry the results are late. I didn't have internet access yesterday!

LiverpoolEngland VS. Quakmybush
0-3

Sarzonia VS. Londim
5-6

pnts. w d l
LiverpoolEngland 0 0 0 1
Quakmybush 3 1 0 0
Reformed salt 0 0 0 0


pnts. w d l
Londim 3 1 0 0
Sarzonia 0 0 0 1
Kelse 0 0 0 0

The following matches shall take place next:
Sarzonia VS. Kelse

Milchama VS. GarfeildtheFat

Will someone please try to contact them, I don't have that much time! Just please send a telegram or something. Thank you!!!

Big News!!!

All matches of Water Polo were canceled yesterday, as a result of none of the competitors showing up!!! They shall happen today instead. Martentopis certanily hopes more people will show up today, since all of Martentopis is watching. Me have certainly put high prices for the TV commercials!

Woodstock Daily Mail

Splash fail to dent Londim

by Lonise Tucker
Special to the Daily Mail

28 JUNE 2006 -- With a 5-1 third quarter lead, the Sarzonian national water polo side looked like a cohesive unit. More importantly, they looked more like a professional water polo unit than a collection of university students who were thrown together at the last possible moment.

However, the team's inexperience took its toll as Londim scored five unanswered goals in the span of six minutes between the third and fourth quarters and two great saves from goalkeeper Bill Loning in the waning seconds prevented the score from becoming a blowout as Sarzonia lost 6-5.

"We just started rushing our possessions with a 5-1 lead. I wanted us to remain aggressive, but we just got too aggressive," said Coach Harry Langdon. We need to learn to play with a lead and we need to learn to play together as a team."

Sarzonia (0-1) certainly played like an experienced team at the outset, getting two goals from point man Ryan Harold as Sarzonia scored the first three goals of the match. During the break between the first and second quarters, Londim point man Jimmy Hars could be heard shouting at his team to "get your heads back in the game!"

His words were heeded briefly as Londim scored right after the break to cut the Splash's lead to 3-1. However, driver Carey Knight's rocket from 10 metres out against the run of play moved the lead back to 4-1. Centre forward Marcus Beasley scored the first goal of the second half to seemingly put the game out of reach at 5-1, but Londim called a quick timeout and regrouped.

"We need to make sure we don't let another one get away from us," Knight said. "If we've got a team down, we need to put them away."

Londim Washes Away Opposition


Londims Water Polo team has done it. They beat Sarzonia 6-5 but it wasn't an easy match at all. In fact it was nearly a massacre. During the first and second quarters Londims team looked like it had been put together on that day with failed passes, horrendus shots and a genral lack of self esteem. At the break the Londim team was trailing by 3 goals to nil which didn't sit well with coach Garth Fields.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing. We had trained for hours and hours and we were being slaughtered by a very inexperienced team. During half time I told the team to believe in themselves and play like a unit", he said after the match.

When the third quarter started the team looked a little more spirited and conceived a goal from Paul Jin with an excellent evasive manouevre and shot on goal. But Sarzonnia answered back with 2 more goals of their own bringing the score to 5-1 at the end of the 3rd quarter. During the break the crowd started chanted "Londim Love, Londim Pride", which gave the team a great confidence.

Within a few seconds the team were on the attack again and scored to make it 5-2. By this time the team was defending with all its might and within a matter of minutes the team had scored 4 more goals to bring the lead to 6-5. However in our opnion the team needs to play a lot more proffesionally if they are going to have a chance in the rest of the competition.

Sarzonia VS. Kelse
7-1

Milchama VS. GarfieldtheFat
4-2


pnts. w d l
Londim 3 1 0 0
Sarzonia 3 1 0 1
Kelse 0 0 0 1


pnts. w d l
Milchama 3 1 0 0
GarfieldtheFat0 0 0 1
Ravea 0 0 0 0

The following matches shall take place next:
GarfieldtheFat VS. Ravea

Quakmybush VS. Reformed Salt

This is Bob Weeks from the TSN Water Polo network. If Quakmybush can win their next match they can clinch a birth into the knockout stages of the tourny. Do you think they can do it George?

Ya, I think they can, they have a strong and young squad just gettin ready to win.

Alright, well stay tuned the pre game show will be starting momentarely.

Courtesy RSSN

So soon we shall see the Legions of Reformed Salt's loyal water polo fans turn out to their TV sets to witness their beloved national team's game against the formidable Quakmybush squad. What an amazing match this should be!

While Reformed Salt boasts the most competitive coach in the world in the incorrigible Marco Tynberson, they lack the size of the Quakemybush team. Although the team's shortest player, (Joey Fordon, driver) is 6'4", he weighs only 165.

If Reformed Salt is to come away with a victory, they will have to take advantage of their phemonenal speed (25m in 20.22 seconds for Fernand Piccolo, Point Man) and their awesome reach (82 inch wing span on Paul Perceve, wing).

In goal, Thomas Hoderstran, Reformed Salt has been struggling of late, but expect Tynberson to pump some serious inspiration into Hoderstan before the match, in addition to his normal, if questionable, bag of tricks.

Quakmybush should be afraid of Gerald Regent, wing, whose devastating skipping backhand shot broke eight noses last year in the amateur league. His shots rarely seem to get through the defenders, but when they do, they are known to leave welts on a goalie's hand, should he get a hand on them.

Center forward, Raphael Limpodo, with a 10-1 assist to goal ratio last year is another threat with his, now legendary in Reformed Salt, pinpoint long distance passing ability.

Driver, Steve Freben, has the least experience having just walked onto his University of Iodide team this year after years of swimming competively. He shows great promise, and we expect great things from him in the future. He is known as a stolid player, having played through injuries to his left shoulder, right hip-flexor, as well as a sprained right ankle; he seems to be at one hundred percent, although at times we take note of him being sure to climb out of the pool using his left foot. He does however, have the most solid view of the pool that this reporter has ever seen.

We expect a very physical game from Quakmybush, and this has always been an issue for the very finesse based Reformed Salt team.

Stay tuned for more updates, and be sure to tune in to what is sure to be an extremely competitive game.

-RSSN

Sorry, but i didn't have internet acces yesterday. These are the results:

GarfieldtheFat VS. Ravea
2-4

Quakmybush VS. Reformed Salt
2-8


pnts. w d l
Milchama 3 1 0 0
GarfieldtheFat0 0 0 2
Ravea 3 1 0 0


pnts. w d l
LiverpoolEngland 0 0 0 1
Quakmybush 3 1 0 1
Reformed salt 3 0 0 1

The following matches shall take place next:

Reformed Salt VS. LiverpoolEngland
Kelse VS. Londim
Ravea VS. Milchama

Courtesy RSSN

After Quakmybush scored two goals out of the gate in the opening two minutes of very physical play, Reformed Salt bolstered their confidence with three blocked shots and two steals. Reformed Salt used their reach to control the pace of the game, and some devastating backhand shots to intimidate Greg Freut, goalkeeper for Quakmybush.

After a shaky start to the game for Reformed Salt goalkeeper Thomas Hoderstran, Tynberson threw a pull bouy at him with the words, "Watch the f*cking ball!" written on it.

He was immediately ejected from the natatorium. Quakmybush complained that the fuel tank on their bus seemed to have water in it, almost causing them to be late, no word from tournament officials on Tynberson's involvement, although we have recieved rumors that he spent the whole night prior to the match with other coaches drinking scotch and was seen stumbling from the bar a half an hour before the match. Asked for comment after the game, "I had nothing to do with any sabotage of any sort! I resent that so much that I'm going to refer you to the bartender at the Martentopis Regent Concordia Hotel as to my whereabouts for the fourteen hours leading up to the game."

After Tynberson's ejection, Reformed Salt had four goals in a five minute span, all assisted by Limpodo, before a drought for both sides that lasted until the final three minutes.

After a spectacular shot by Aders Drank, tipped by Trather to the top left corner of the goal, Hoderstran made an unbelievable save that deflected from his finger tip into the hands of Fernand Piccolo, who sprinted past the entire Quakmybush roster to pass across Perceve who slammed the ball into the back of the goal. This was followed by goals by Freben, from mid pool, through some traffic; Regent had two wide angle goals assisted by Freben and Fordon, both in a forty-five second span, and a final goal by Limpodo unassisted with only 12.5 seconds left.

Next Reformed Salt will face LiverpoolEngland who, lost a heartbreaker to Quakmybush earlier in the tournament, despite some solid play.

Reformed Salt should show up with a lot of motivation, knowing that this will be perhaps its most difficult game of the tournament, against a team with a lot of confidence and skill, that lost a game that they know they were capable of winning. Expect LiverpoolEngland to take advantage of any edge they may have and try to control the pace of the game, while pressing their sheer physical nature of play to remove Reformed Salt's expert passing ability.

Reformed Salt will show up with their game face, ready to use their incredible length again to their advantage. Steve Freben seemed completely recovered from his injury in the previous game, and expect him to have a huge game now that he's back in the swing of things.

For now, we await the game anxiously here at RSSN. Be sure to stay tuned.

-RSSN Columnist Theodore Joseph

These are the results:

Reformed Salt VS. LiverpoolEngland
6-1

Kelse VS. Londim
4-5

Ravea VS. Milchama
3-3


pnts. w d l
LiverpoolEngland 0 0 0 2
Quakmybush 3 1 0 1
Reformed salt 6 1 0 1


pnts. w d l
Milchama 4 1 1 0
GarfieldtheFat0 0 0 2
Ravea 4 1 1 0


pnts. w d l
Londim 6 2 0 0
Sarzonia 3 1 0 1
Kelse 0 0 0 2

The following day is a REST DAY

The following matches shall take place today:

Sarzonia VS. Kelse

LiverpoolEngland VS. Quakmybush

This is Bob Weeks from the TSN Water Polo Network. Quakmybush can all but gurantee a spot in the next round with a win today over Liverpool England, who is stuggling in this new sport. Quakmybush however is playing quite well.

Woodstock Daily Mail

Splash drown Kelse prep for rematch

by Lonise Tucker
Special to the Daily Mail

6 July 2006 -- After blowing a 5-1 third quarter lead in their first match, the Sarzonian water polo team continued to apply pressure in the offensive end of the pool after going into halftime with a 4-1 cushion. They poured on three goals in the span of five minutes spanning the third and fourth quarters and routed Kelse 7-1.

The win evened Sarzonia's record at 1-1 going into the rest of the qualifying stages, but more important for Coach Harry Langdon, the team played cohesively.

"They didn't look like a bunch of uni kids out there," Langdon said. "They also didn't look like a collection of all-star players. They looked like a team."

Driver Carey Knight scored a natural hat trick, accounting for all three first quarter goals as Sarzonia jumped out to a 4-0 lead before three minutes elapsed in the second quarter. Kelse broke the momentum briefly with their lone goal of the contest, but then Sarzonia tightened up defensively.

"We wanted to make sure there was no repeat of the Londim match," Knight said. "We wanted to play more like a team and I think we did that."

Sarzonia face Londim with a chance to give themselves at least a .500 record in qualifying.

These are the results:
Sarzonia VS. Kelse
4-2

LiverpoolEngland VS. Quakmybush
1-3

Sorry, but I don't have time to put up the score table!!

The following matches shall take place next:
Kelse VS. Londim

Ravea VS. Milchama

These are the results:
Kelse VS. Londim
3-3

Ravea VS. Milchama
5-4


pnts. w d l
Milchama 5 1 1 1
GarfieldtheFat0 0 0 2
Ravea 7 2 1 0


pnts. w d l
Londim 7 2 1 0
Sarzonia 6 2 0 1
Kelse 1 0 1 2

These matches shall take place next:
LiverpoolEngland VS. Reformed Salt

GarfieldtheFat VS. Ravea

OOC: Shouldn't I be credited with six points and two wins, both against Kelse?

Courtesy RSSN

After their last two impressive wins, Reformed Salt takes on LiverpoolEngland for the second time in this round. If the last match was any indication, Reformed Salt should take advantage of their length and speed to control the pace of the game.

Scoring hasn't been too much of a problem for the Reformed Salt team of late, and with any luck will continue to be just as impressive.

The LiverpoolEngland team will most likely change things up from their last game, and try to play closer defense, but given Reformed Salt's length advantage and passing ability, it is likely that this will turn up little result.

Marco Tynberson, at a press conference told reporters, "I'm very proud of this team and their dedication to the game. They've shown a poise rarely seen in team of this age. All of Reformed Salt should be proud to call them their own."

-Roy Legace

OOC: Shouldn't I be credited with six points and two wins, both against Kelse?

Sorry, Sarzonia. I got it mixed up.

These are the results of the day:

LiverpoolEngland VS. Reformed Salt
0-8

GarfieldtheFat VS. Ravea
0-3

I don't have time to put up the score charts. Sorry for the inconvienience!

These matches will take place tomorow:

Quakmybush VS. Reformed Salt

Londim VS. Sarzonia

Milchama VS. GarfeildtheFat

Woodstock Daily Mail

Sarzonia has one more chance to make a big Splash

by Lonise Tucker
Special to the Daily Mail

Going into the first-ever World Water Polo League, the collection of college players that formed the Sarzonian national water polo team didn't have much reason to be optimistic. The sport had a minimal college following in Sarzonia and there are currently no plans to establish a professional or semipro league.

However, Sarzonia fought back from tournament opening 6-5 loss to group leaders Londim by pummeling Kelse 7-1, then winning the rematch 4-2. With Londim's victory and draw against Kelse, the final matchup between the two teams looms with Sarzonia having a chance to win the group and advance to the knockout stages of the tournament.

"We didn't have as long as I'd like to really mesh as a team," said Coach Harry Langdon of his de facto all star team. "Having said that, we just finished our water polo season and the guys were still in pretty good match shape. That's probably been the biggest difference for us, at least in our two matches against Kelse."

The match up against Londim still looms, however. Memories of the team blowing a 5-1 lead en route to a 6-5 loss still smart for the team that suddenly is looking more like a legitimate water polo side.

"We needed to close out that match against Londim, but we still have a chance to win the group and move on to the next round," said driver Kyle Longberry. "Maybe the rematch will do us some good."

The Splash (2-1-0, six points) are just one point behind Londim (2-0-1, seven points) for the group lead. A win would advance the team to the the knockout rounds. Despite relatively limited coverage by the country's media outlets, fans have supported the team by attending viewing parties and by writing to various outlets asking for more coverage.

"We'll see where the team's performance leads the sport in Sarzonia," Langdon said. "As far as I'm concerned, my priority is figuring out a way to beat Londim."

These are the results:
Quakmybush VS. Reformed Salt
4-5

Londim VS. Sarzonia
5-7

Milchama VS. GarfeildtheFat
4-4


pnts. w d l
LiverpoolEngland 0 0 0 2
Quakmybush 3 1 0 2
Reformed salt 7 2 0 1


pnts. w d l
Londim 7 2 1 1
Sarzonia 10 3 0 1
Kelse 1 0 1 3


pnts. w d l
Milchama 6 1 2 1
GarfieldtheFat0 0 1 2
Ravea 7 2 1 0

Congratulations to Reformed Salt, Sarzonia, and Ravea, for making it on to the final group. The matches for this group shall begin within three days.

When you see a new thread with Water-Polo FINALS, come immediately!