Curie boys water polo takes third in Public League

Kevin Gama still has two years of high school left, but there’s no question how valuable he is to Curie boys water polo.

“Kevin’s been the man all his life,” Condors coach Nate Cruz said. “He’s been the man since he was in seventh grade and it’s just carrying over.”

“I’ve been feeling more confident,” Gama said. “But also the practice I put in through the summer is really crucial. Because at the end of the day consistency is the key and I’ve been feeling consistent.”

Gama and freshman Joaquin Alvarez led the way as the Curie/Kelly/UIC Prep co-op beat Kennedy/Hancock 20-7 on May 3 at the UIC Natatorium to finish third in the Public League playoffs.

Alvarez scored six goals and Gama added five for the Condors, who led 12-2 at halftime and 16-3 after three periods. Javier Cruz led Kennedy/Hancock (14-6) with three goals.

The Condors went into rebuilding mode after winning their record 10th Public League title in 2023, and the process seems to be coming along well.

The Condors have just two seniors and one junior on a team that took a 15-12 record into this week’s IHSA playoffs. They own wins over several suburban and Catholic League teams, including Sandburg (twice), Homewood-Flossmoor and St. Ignatius.

“In the month of April, we had a lot of nights of back-to-back games,” Cruz said. “But now we’ve found ourselves. We were in a slump in the third, second week of April. But we know who we are as a team. We’re growing, we’re still young. Nothing but bright things for the future.”

One of the seniors, Antonio Sandoval-Panarin, missed some time earlier in the season. His return has been key to the Condors’ better play recently, according to Gama.

“Honestly. since he came (back) we just felt better as a team,” Gama said. “We’ve bonded together. We’ve been through ups and downs and I feel like that’s really helped us.”

The Condors seem to be closing the gap against Young and Lane, the city’s other top programs. After losing 19-1 to Lane in conference play, Curie fell 20-7 to the Champions in the Public League semifinals on May 2,

“Most definitely it’s a sign of progress,” Cruz said. “Lane had a young team last year. … They’re a very talented team, very fast team. … But having a 9-4 half against them really showed a lot of progress especially with the last game we had. …

“I see nothing but improvement with my guys and the CPL league’s just getting a lot stronger.”

Gama is also upbeat.

“We have so much potential,” he said. “We want to get better and we’re gonna do anything we can to get better.”

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