Girls Water Polo: Fenwick makes early work of York

Updated: May 11, 2012 10:54PM

The timing couldn’t have been much worse for Fenwick senior water polo players Mackenzie Bonk and Maureen Barron.

The defending state champion Friars had to play their York Sectional semifinal game against the host Dukes at 8:15 p.m. Friday, right about the same time their senior prom was slated to begin.

But thanks to a strong start to the game, Fenwick was able to cruise to a 10-3 win to advance to Saturday’s 1:15 p.m. sectional title game against Lyons. With the game in hand early on, Bonk and Barron were able to leave after the first quarter to quickly get ready for prom and their teammates took care of the rest.

“We wanted them to have a fun night,” Fenwick sophomore Cara Borkevec said. “We came out ready to go. The seniors had prom today, so we wanted to make sure we came out right away and made the score good enough for them to leave, and we did. It was really exciting.”

Fenwick (27-3) wasted no time getting a lead for their seniors, taking a 7-0 lead two minutes into the second quarter. Borkevec was the only player to score more than once in that span, as she put two in the back of the net. After allowing the seniors to split, the next goal was to get everybody on the bench a chance to play, and the big lead allowed for that, as well.

“It’s really nice that we were able to have a game where we were able to let them experience that,” Fenwick coach Jack Wagner said. “We had a chance to get everybody a chance to play in the state tournament. We’re not here to blow them out. We want them to enjoy the experience, too. York did a nice job.”

Carly Redmond put in a pair of second-half goals for the Dukes (14-11).

Fenwick now gets another crack at top-ranked Lyons in the finals Saturday. Lyons handed Fenwick one of its three losses earlier this season.

“I’m very excited,” Borkevec said. “It makes me shake every time I think about it. Half of it is nerves, half of it is excitement. The first game (against Lyons) is nothing compared to how great of a team we are together. We really work hard and know what we have to do. I’m so excited. I’ve been waiting for this weekend forever, and it’s finally here.”

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