Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union Launches HNB Age Group Aquatic Championships 2025, Powered by Anchor Newdale, and Hosts Inaugural Indo-Sri Lanka Under-21 Water Polo Championship Colombo, Sri Lanka. 

The Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU), the national governing body for aquatic sports, proudly announces the HNB Age Group Aquatic Championships 2025, powered by Anchor Newdale, to be held from 7th to 11th May 2025. This year’s championship will also feature the inaugural Indo-Sri Lanka Under-21 Water Polo Championship, taking place from 8th to 11th May 2025 the first time this international water polo event is being hosted in Sri Lanka. 

>>A spirited effort from S. Thomas’ not enough to crack through Trinity defense<<

SLASU governs six aquatic disciplines: swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, open water swimming, and high diving. Traditionally, competitions in these disciplines are held independently. However, this year, SLASU is bringing swimming, diving, and water polo together into one vibrant national event to foster greater unity, create an exciting championship atmosphere, and generate broader public interest in emerging and underrepresented aquatic disciplines like diving and water polo. 

To ensure the event reaches audiences across Sri Lanka and beyond, ThePapare.com and ThePapare TV 2 HD (Dialog TV Channel 127) will live telecast all five days of competition, offering fans unprecedented access to the action from anywhere in the world. 

>>SLC brings in former India fielding coach R. Sridhar to elevate National Fielding Standards<<

The HNB Age Group Aquatic Championships 2025, powered by Anchor Newdale is made possible thanks to the commitment and generosity of a strong lineup of partners: 

• Title Sponsor: Hatton National Bank (HNB) 

• Gold Sponsor: Anchor Newdale 

• Silver Sponsors: Glory Sports and Stingray Swimming School 

• Food & Beverage Partner: Perera and Sons 

• Education Partner: Oxford School of Business 

• Activewear Partner: Run Club 

• Outdoor Digital Partner: Emerging Media 

This championship also marks the official launch of SLASU’s Elite Athlete Management Program, a transformative initiative designed to support the long term development and retention of Sri Lanka’s top aquatic athletes. HNB is introducing specialized financial solutions for student athletes to continue their education while competing at national and international levels. The Oxford School of Business has also stepped forward with scholarships for elite swimmers to pursue higher education within Sri Lanka. Furthermore, SLASU is working with leading corporates to offer flexible employment to swimmers over 18, allowing them to continue their athletic careers while gaining valuable work experience helping ensure they stay and compete in Sri Lanka. 

The event will also serve as the stage for the Indo-Sri Lanka Under-21 Water Polo Championship, a landmark bilateral series. Featuring both boys’ and girls’ teams from Sri Lanka and India, the tournament is set to become an annual fixture, with each nation hosting the event in alternate years. Sri Lanka is honoured to host the inaugural edition this year, with a return leg planned in India in 2026. SLASU is currently in discussions with the Swimming Federation of India to expand the collaboration in the near future to include senior national teams as well. 

With this landmark event, SLASU reinforces its commitment to raising the standard of aquatic sports in Sri Lanka, nurturing future champions, and building strong international partnerships through meaningful competition. 

LEBANON, Ill. (First Alert 4) – The McKendree women’s water polo team is having its best year in program history.

With a 21-7 record, the Bearcats are NCAA Tournament bound, a moment that’s been eight seasons in the making.

“This program has put in a lot of work to get here,” said McKendree senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane.

“When I saw that time run to zero, everything came out,” said McKendree senior attacker Jasmin Guzman.

The moment marked the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth, something longtime head coach Colleen Lischwe had always dreamt of.

“I remember I was talking to Colleen my sophomore year and she said her dream was to get to the NCAA tournament,” said Guzman.

Lischwe never saw that dream become a reality, as she died in a car crash on January 15, 2025, just 10 days before the team’s first game this season.

“It was tough, we heard news on a Wednesday,” said Kane. “Saturday, Sunday we spent the whole day together as a team and we knew we had to get right back into it. Monday, we jumped back in the pool and had our first practice, got it out of the way. We all mourned and grieved together as a team.”

“There was no manual for what to do, so I think taking it step by step and going at the pace that felt right for us,” McKendree women’s water polo head coach Alex Figueras said.

Figueras stepped in as interim head coach to lead this group of women the Lischwe way.

“Nothing really changed in my mind in terms of what we wanted to do, we just kind of had a little extra push,” he said.

“Emotionally, we were driven by the motivation that she instilled within us,” added Kane.

With Coach Lischwe in mind, the Bearcats made history and are one of nine teams in the national tournament.

“At the end of the day, pretty much all the credit for this goes to her,” said Figueras.

Her pregame speech still lives through this team every day.

“Before every game, I think in my head this thing she would say is ‘I love you, I trust you have fun,’” Kane said.

McKendree’s national tournament journey begins on Wednesday, May 7 vs. Wagner.

Copyright 2025 KMOV. All rights reserved.

Baseball

Antioch 6, Lakes 0

Aurora Central Catholic 3, IC Catholic 1

Bartlett 4, Elgin 3

Chicago Christian 4, Wheaton Academy 3

Downers Grove North 8, Glenbard South 1

Downers Grove South 16, Addison Trail 4

Elmwood Park 11, Fenton 1

Glenbard East 3, Riverside-Brookfield 2

Grayslake Central 7, Grant 1

Hampshire 6, Cary-Grove 3

Harvest Christian 26, Walther Christian 1

Highland Park 5, Vernon Hills 2

Holy Trinity 3, Westmont 2

Lake Zurich 8, Mundelein 5

Leyden 8, Hinsdale South 5

Libertyville 16, Zion Benton 0

Lyons 11, Hinsdale Central 1

Maine South 10, New Trier 2

Marmion Academy 11, Montini 1

McNamara 12, St. Edward 0

Naperville North 1, Waubonsie Valley 0

Neuqua Valley 10, DeKalb 0

Niles North 7, Maine West 4

Niles West 7, Maine East 0

Schaumburg 3, Elk Grove 2

South Elgin 15, East Aurora 0

St. Francis 12, DeLaSalle 2

Streamwood 5, Larkin 3

Streator 8, Lisle 2

Timothy Christian 8, Aurora Christian 5

Warren 2, Stevenson 1

Wauconda 13, Round Lake 1

West Chicago 5, Ridgewood 4

Willowbrook 5, Morton 4

York 4, Glenbard West 2

Softball

Antioch 5, Wauconda 3

Aurora Central Catholic 12, IC Catholic Prep 4

Aurora Christian 12, Harvest Christian 6

Bartlett 9, Larkin 5

Batavia 4, Geneva 3

Crystal Lake Central 7, Crystal Lake South 6

DeLaSalle 9, Hinsdale South 6

Glenbard South 7, Elmwood Park 2

Grayslake Central 18, Round Lake 1

Hampshire 4, Huntley 3

Jacobs 7, Dundee Crown 3

Kaneland 16, Oswego East 4

Lakes 22, Grayslake North 9

Maine South 9, New Trier 2

McHenry 1, Burlington Central 0

Niles West 12, Maine East 0

Oak Park River Forest 16, Hinsdale Central 0

Oswego 14, Wheaton North 12

Prairie Ridge 9, Cary-Grove 2

Ridgewood 9, Fenton 5

Riverside-Brookfield 10, Glenbard East 3

Rolling Meadows 11, Hoffman Estates 1

South Elgin 14, Elgin 0

St. Edward 18, Christian Liberty 0

Streator 8, Lisle 2

Vernon Hills 7, Niles North 4

West Aurora 16, East Aurora 1

Boys tennis

Cary-Grove 5, Crystal Lake South 2

Boys volleyball

Benet d. St. Viator 25-16, 25-19

Glenbard East d. Ridgewood 25-9, 25-19

Grayslake Central d. Antioch 25-21, 25-17

Hersey d. Buffalo Grove 25-22, 25-20

Lakes d. North Chicago 25-8, 25-22

Loyola d. St. Francis 25-22, 23-25, 25-22

Maine South d. New Trier 25-18, 25-23

Neuqua Valley d. Naperville North 25-16, 25-18

Oak Park-River Forest d. Downers Grove North 25-22, 20-25, 25-21

Prospect d. Wheeling 25-20, 25-20

Riverside-Brookfield d. Fenton 25-11, 21-25, 25-15

Schaumburg d. Hoffman Estates 25-22, 20-25, 27-25

St. Charles North d. Glenbard North 25-15, 25-18

St. Patrick d. Carmel 25-14, 25-12

Streamwood d. Larkin 25-10, 25-11

Timothy Christian d. Chicago Hope Academy 25-10, 25-17

Waubonsie Valley d. Naperville Central 25-14, 25-19

Wheaton Academy d. Chicago Christian 25-19, 25-16

Willowbrook d. Addison Trail 19-25, 32-30, 25-17

York d. Proviso West 25-13, 25-15

Boys lacrosse

Carmel 16, Palatine 5

Huntley 15, Crystal Lake South 1

Glenbrook South 5, Vernon Hills 4

Lake Forest Academy 12, Dundee Crown 8

Montini 22, St. Laurence 6

St. Viator 19, Glenbrook North 4

Boys water polo

Barrington d. Mundelein 11

Boys track and field

At Prospect: Prospect 90, Rolling Meadows 51, Hersey 32

Girls soccer

Aurora Central Catholic 6, IMSA 0

DePaul 1, St. Viator 0

Dundee Crown 5, Hampshire 1

Huntley 2, Cary-Grove 0

IC Catholic Prep 5, Westminster Christian 2

Lakes 7, Grant 0

Lake Zurich 3, Mundelein 0

Naperville Central 3, Metea Valley 0

Naperville North 2, Waubonsie Valley 0

Neuqua Valley 8, DeKalb 0

South Elgin 2, Benet 1

Vernon Hills 9, Maine East 0

Warren 1, Stevenson 1

Wauconda 4, Grayslake Central 0

Girls lacrosse

Carmel 14, Nazareth 13

Downers Grove North 17, Naperville Central 1

Glenbard West 11, Lyons 7

Marist 13, St. Viator 7

Girls water polo

Mundelein 10, Barrington 3

Upcoming

Wednesday, May 7

Baseball

Antioch at Lakes, 4:45 p.m.

Barrington at Fremd, 4:45 p.m.

Burlington Central at Prairie Ridge, 4:30 p.m.

Cary-Grove at Huntley, 4:30 p.m.

Conant at Hoffman Estates, 4:45 p.m.

Elk Grove at Prospect, 4:45 p.m.

Grayslake Central at Grant, 4:45 p.m.

Hampshire at Dundee Crown, 4:30 p.m.

Hersey at Buffalo Grove, 4:45 p.m.

Jacobs at Crystal Lake Central, 4:30 p.m.

Kaneland at Morris, 4:30 p.m.

Marmion Academy at Sandburg Do it Stevies Way Tournament, 4:45 p.m.

McHenry at Crystal Lake South, 4:30 p.m.

Nazareth at Benet, 4:30 p.m.

Oswego East at West Aurora, 4:30 p.m.

Palatine at Schaumburg, 4:45 p.m.

Round Lake at Wauconda, 4:45 p.m.

St. Viator at St. Patrick, TBD

Timothy Christian at Harvest Christian, 5:30 p.m.

Westminster Christian at Walther Christian, 4:30 p;.m.

Softball

Aurora Christian at Marian Central, 4:30 p.m.

Batavia at St. Charles North, 4:30 p.m.

Benet at St. Viator, 4:30 p.m.

Buffalo Grove at Hoffman Estates, 4:45 p.m.

Downers Grove South at Proviso East, 4:45 p.m.

Elgin at Crystal Lake South, 4:30 p.m.

Elk Grove at Schaumburg, 4:45 p.m.

Glenbard North at Wheaton Warrenville South, 4:30 p.m.

Glenbard South at West Chicago, 4:30 p.m.

Glenbard West at York, 4:30 p.m.

Grayslake North at Carmel, 4:45 p.m.

Harvest Christian at Lake Forest Academy, 4:30 p.m.

Hersey at Palatine, 4:45 p.m.

Hinsdale South at Addison Trail, 4:45 p.m.

Lake Park at Geneva, 4:30 p.m.

Lake Zurich at Lake Forest, 4:45 p.m.

Lyons at Downers Grove North, 4:45 p.m.

Metea Valley at DeKalb, 4:30 p.m.

Mundelein at Libertyville, 4:45 p.m.

Naperville North at Neuqua Valley, 4:30 p.m.

Prospect at Barrington, 4:45 p.m.

Rolling Meadows at Fremd, 4:45 p.m.

Somonauk at St. Francis, 4:30 p.m.

South Elgin at Leyden, 4:45 p.m.

St. Edward at Wheaton Academy, 4:30 p.m.

Streamwood at Round Lake, 4:45 p.m.

Sycamore at Kaneland, 4:30 p.m.

Timothy Christian at Chicago Hope, 4:30 p.m.

Waubonsie Valley at Naperville Central, 4:30 p.m.

Waukegan at Stevenson, 4:45 p.m.

Wheaton Academy at St. Edward, 4:30 p.m.

Wheaton North at St. Charles East, 4:30 p.m.

Wheeling at Conant, 4:45 p.m.

Zion-Benton at Warren, 4:45 p.m.

Boys tennis

Addison Trail at Downers Grove South, 4:30 p.m.

Downers Grove North at Naperville Central, 4:30 p.m.

Dundee Crown, Hampshire, Huntley at Cary-Grove FVC Tournament, 4 p.m.

Elgin at Batavia, 4 p.m.

Glenbard North at St. Charles East, 4:15 p.m.

Glenbard West at Glenbard South, 4 p.m.

Grayslake Central at Johnsburg, 4:30 p.m.

Grayslake North at Wauconda, 4:30 p.m.

Hinsdale Central at Latin, 4:30 p.m.

Metea Valley at Wheaton Warrenville South, 4:30 p.m.

Rochelle Zell Jewish at Wheeling, 4:30 p.m.

Schaumburg at Elk Grove, 4:30 p.m.

St. Charles North at South Elgin, 4:30 p.m.

Stevenson at Fremd, 4:30 p.m.

Warren at Vernon Hills, 4:30 p.m.

Wheaton North at St. Charles North, 4 p.m.

Yorkville at West Aurora, 4 p.m.

Boys volleyball

Addison Trail at Nazareth, 6 p.m.

Andrew at Willowbrook, 5:30 p.m.

Christ the King at Timothy Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Glenbrook South at Barrington, 6 p.m.

Grayslake Central at Libertyville, 6 p.m.

Hinsdale South at St. Charles East, 5:30 p.m.

Lake Park at Lyons, 5:30 p.m.

Maine East at Vernon Hills, 6 p.m.

Maine West at Niles North, 6 p.m.

Mundelein at Lake Zurich, 6 p.m.

Montini at Joliet Catholic Academy, 6 p.m.

Naperville Central at Neuqua Valley, 5:30 p.m.

Palatine at Conant, 6 p.m.

St. Viator at Carmel, 6 p.m.

Warren at Stevenson, 6 p.m.

Wheeling at Rolling Meadows, 6 p.m.

Boys lacrosse

Fremd at Glenbrook South, 6:30 p.m.

Grayslake at Wauconda, 5:30 p.m.

Hersey at Latin, 5 p.m.

Kaneland at Riverside-Brookfield, 5:30 p.m.

Lakes at Grant, 4:30 p.m.

Metea Valley, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley at Naperville Central DVC Championships, 6:30 p.m.

Mundelein at Lake Forest, 6:45 p.m.

South Elgin at St. Charles North, 6:30 p.m.

Stevenson at Lake Zurich, 6:30 p.m.

Timothy Christian at Glenbard North, 7 p.m.

Warren at Libertyville, 6:45 p.m.

Boys water polo

Andrew at Waubonsie Valley, 6 p.m.

Metea Valley at Niles West, 6 p.m.

Naperville North at Stevenson, 6 p.m.

Neuqua Valley at Lockport, 5 p.m.

Sandburg at Naperville Central, 6 p.m.

York at Lincoln Way East, 6 p.m.

Boys track and field

Hinsdale Central at Lyons, 4:30 p.m.

St. Viator at Notre Dame Prep Conference Championship, 2 p.m.

Girls soccer

Barrington at Palatine, 6:30 p.m.

Chicago Christian at Harvest Christian, 4:30 p.m.

Conant at Fremd, 7 p.m.

Highland Park at Carmel, 6:30 p.m.

Hoffman Estates at Schaumburg, 7 p.m.

Indian Creek at Rosary, 4:30 p.m.

LaSalle Peru at Kaneland, 6:15 p.m.

Prospect at Elk Grove, 5 p.m.

Rolling Meadows at Hersey, 6:45 p.m.

Westmont at Chicago Prep Conference Tournament, TBA

Wheeling at Buffalo Grove, 6 p.m.

Girls lacrosse

Cary-Grove/Crystal Lake Coop at Jacobs/Hampshire Coop, 6:30 p.m.

DePaul College Prep at St. Francis, 7 p.m.

Fenwick at Montini, 5:30 p.m.

Glenbrook South at Barrington, 6:30 p.m.

Hersey at Glenbrook North, 7 p.m.

Huntley at McHenry, 6:30 p.m.

Lake Forest at Mundelein, 6:15 p.m.

Lake Zurich at Stevenson, 6:30 p.m.

Libertyville at Warren, 6:30 p.m.

Metea Valley, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Waubonsie Valley at Neuqua Valley DVC Championships, 6:30 p.m.

Regina Dominican at Streamwood, 5 p.m.

Rolling Meadows at Vernon Hills, 7 p.m.

Rosary at Providence Catholic, 5:15 p.m.

Sandburg at York, 5:30 p.m.

St. Ignatius at Benet, 7 p.m.

Wheaton Coop at St. Charles Coo, 6:30 p.m.

Girls water polo

Hinsdale South at Hinsdale Central, 6 p.m.

Lincoln Way East at York, 6 p.m.

Lockport at Neuqua Valley, 6 p.m.

Naperville North at Stevenson, 5 p.m.

Sandburg at Naperville Central, 5 p.m.

Waubonsie valley at Andrew, 5 p.m.

Girls track and field

Addison Trail, Downers Grove South, Hinsdale South, Willowbrook at Morton West Suburban Conference Meet, 4:30 p.m.

Aurora Christian, Wheaton Academy at Chicago Christian Chicagoland Christian Conference Meet, TBA

Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Conant, Elk Grove, Fremd, Hersey, Palatine, Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Wheeling at Hoffman Estates Invitational, 4:45 p.m.

Benet, Carmel, St. Viator at Marist ESCC Conference Tournament, 2 p.m.