There are different theories to explain Fenwick’s state-wide dominance in the water polo arena.

“It really starts with the athletes themselves,” said Friars girls head coach Jack Wagner, whose team won its second straight state title Saturday in Lincolnshire. It was the Friars’ fifth crown in six seasons.

“We don’t have the biggest kids,” Wagner added. “We don’t have the fastest kids, we don’t have the smartest kids, but they all buy into the fact that it’s 12, 13, 14 people in a room together. That’s what it’s all about. You sell out to each other. If you make a mistake, I’m going to be there to back you up.”

Later Saturday evening, the Friars’ boys squad won its sixth straight state championship and 11th in the last 12 years.

“The players are dedicated to the tradition and they’re dedicated to keeping that up,” said boys coach Dave Perry.

Maybe its the man behind the scenes.

“They often talk to me about strategy,” Fenwick athletic director Mike Curtin said jokingly.

But in all seriousness, Curtin credited the two coaches’ ability to shape young individual talent into a state-powerhouse program.

“I think I’ve said this before and it’s the truth,” Curtin said after the girls defeated Naperville Central 15-5 in their championship game and the boys beat Sandburg 19-4 shortly thereafter. “It’s one thing to have talent; it’s a whole other thing to know what to do with it.

“Jack (Wagner) and Dave (Perry) have that little extra thing about them. Not only do they get the technical part of it done, they get the motivational part of it done.” 

Fenwick’s boys and girls teams now have won state titles in the same season for the fifth time since Wagner and Perry have been in charge. The two coaches have combined for 20 state championships since beginning to work together at Fenwick in 1993-94. Perry is even godfather to Wagner’s son.

“Our philosophies are very similar, but I’m a little more intense and Dave is a little more laid back,” said Wagner. “We’ve been together forever and it’s a good team.”

Perry, whose son Kyle is an assistant varsity coach, earned his 700th career victory this spring. He will retire from teaching physical education and health at the end of this school year but plans to continue his role with the water polo program.

BOYS: The streak
Since falling 9-5 to Ranson Everglades of Coconut Grove, Fla. on March 29, 2008, the Fenwick boys have not lost a game. That streak appeared in jeopardy in the state semifinals against Naperville Central Saturday at Stevenson. The two teams battled to a 4-4 deadlock entering the fourth quarter before the Friars struck four times to win 8-4 and advance to the finals.

The tight victory was a lesson according to Chris Wendt, who is all set to play at UCLA next school year. Fenwick (33-0) opened the ensuing championship game against Sandburg with a 9-2 lead at the end of the first quarter en route to the 15-point victory.

“We didn’t come out as strong as we wanted,” Wendt said of the semifinal game. “We came out real strong against Sandburg. Everything was working on all cylinders.”

Wendt scored five goals in the championship, while Craig Borkovec (4), Dan Barron (3) and Brian Barron (2) tallied multiple times. Wendt tallied three times to anchor the attack in the semifinal.

“We had a very tough game in the afternoon,” Bucknell-bound goalie Matt Napleton said of the win over Naperville Central. “That was a pressure-packed game from start to finish. Against Sandburg, the fast start kind of took the pressure off of everyone I think. We kept our composure.”
 
GIRLS: Target on their back
Prior to the 2009 campaign, Wagner was told in an interview that his girls team had a target on its back after winning the 2008 state title.

The Friars took those words literally and wore T-shirts with bullseyes as a reminder that it was them against the rest of Illinois.

“We just had to tell ourselves, we’ve been here before,” said senior Morgan Bonk, who will play water polo at Loyola Marymount. “Last season, we were the young team. This year, we came out as the older team.”

Fenwick (33-0) quickly established control of the championship game with a 7-2 halftime lead. The Friars doubled their lead in the second half for the 15-5 win.

Bonk and Lisett Calderon accounted for two-thirds of Fenwick’s scoring in the title match with five goals apiece. Katie Tynan scored three times.

“All of our starters returned from last season,” said goalie Mariclaire Bresnahan (11 saves in the final), who is headed to play at Indiana. “It would have been a disappointment if we didn’t do it again.”