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Preserving the Endless Summer

Editor’s Note: Dick Metz is well known in the surfing industry as the former owner of Hobie Sports shops and Surfline Hawaii and for helping reveal the legendary surf spots Cape St. Francis and Jeffreys Bay in South Africa. He was the subject of the documentary “Birth of the Endless Summer,” which aired on PBS […]

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Preserving the Endless Summer

Editor’s Note: Dick Metz is well known in the surfing industry as the former owner of Hobie Sports shops and Surfline Hawaii and for helping reveal the legendary surf spots Cape St. Francis and Jeffreys Bay in South Africa. He was the subject of the documentary “Birth of the Endless Summer,” which aired on PBS SoCal. The Business Journal annual list of apparel companies based in Orange County begins on page 17. 

I began surfing Laguna Beach in the mid-1930s when hardly anyone was surfing. The water was cold, we didn’t have wetsuits and the 100-pound-plus boards were not very maneuverable. I’d leave my board on the beach because it was too heavy to carry home. 

In 1934, Peanuts Larson made a board in front of the lifeguard tower in Laguna Beach. In his old Model-A Ford, Peanuts would take me to San Onofre and Doheny, the only good places to ride in those days. 

In 1958, I got on ships and went around the world. I didn’t travel with a board and instead borrowed them at select locations. When I reached Africa, I got off in Mombasa in East Africa and started hitchhiking all over the continent, arriving in the town of Arusha in Tanganika, which is now Tanzania, and there’s only one road. There were no gas stations, no places to eat and no towns. So, you had to carry a 55-gallon drum of gas in your truck. You had to take your own food and your water. I originally planned to go to Victoria Falls but decided to continue on to Cape Town. 

The beach at Cape Town looked just like Laguna Beach with girls in bikinis and guys drinking beer and wine and cooking steaks at barbecues. I stayed there for seven months with a surfer who was a used car salesman at the Volkswagen dealership. 

I eventually told him, “Well, I’ve got to keep moving and I’m going up the coast. There’s gotta be some good surfing spots.” 

He said, “Be sure and look at a place called Cape St. Francis.” 

I hitchhiked up the road about another thousand miles to Cape St. Francis. There was only one building, kind of a little general store and a guy who lived in it. I bought some supplies there and I asked him if I could sleep in his front yard and he said, “Fine.” He had a dog that I made friends with, so I slept there that night. The next day I walked out on the beach. The surf was fabulous, but nobody lived there. I stayed about five days. I also got up to Jeffreys Bay, another fabulous surf spot some 15 miles northeast. 

When I returned two years later to California, I showed my pictures to my friends, including Bruce Brown and Hobie Alter. I said, “Bruce, you’ve gotta go where I’ve surfed.” He finally followed my trip with two surfers, Robert August and Mike Hynson, to make the film “The Endless Summer.” 

With its recognizable orange, hot pink and brown poster illustrating surfers and their boards, the famous movie celebrated its 60th anniversary last year. I’m proud to say that this iconic film was inspired by my global travels in search of great surf from 1958 to 1961. 

Decades later, Richard Yellen, a producer in Hollywood, heard how “The Endless Summer” came about and called me, and eventually took me back to Africa to make a movie about how I discovered those great places to surf. That documentary, “Birth of The Endless Summer,” debuted in film festivals in 2021, played in select theaters in 2023, and aired on PBS. 

The Birth of a New Industry 

My business journey began when Hobie asked me to run a surf shop in Hawaii, even though I had no experience selling surfboards. 

In the early 1960s, Hobie began experimenting with making surfboards out of polyurethane foam and then covering them with fiberglass. They often weighed less than 10 pounds. 

Hawaii hadn’t gotten that material yet. So, I took the new ones that Hobie made in Dana Point and had them shipped to me in Hawaii. I sold the heck out of the new boards. Girls and young kids started surfing because they could carry the lighter boards. 

When I opened the Hobie stores, we had surfboards to sell but nothing else. I realized right away that we needed other products because the surfboard cost $80 to $100 each. We didn’t have the right clothes to wear. So, I started a clothing company making t-shirts. Just like today, people dress to indicate what sports they’re involved in. People wanted to be recognized as a surfer, so we made special trunks and called them jams. They were made out of Hawaiian prints with wild bright colors and were longer than typical. 

Suddenly, I was at the beginning of a new industry. The sport created a whole new clothing industry that grew up in Orange County and still exists here to this day. 

I would eventually own 22 Hobie Sports stores, which became part of a popular surfing culture that people wanted to enjoy. 

For me, the stores were also a place where old surfboards went to wait for their next life. Guys had these old boards and would take them to the dump. But I had the Hobie stores, so I would tell them, “I’ll save you a trip to the dump, leave them here.” 

I’d put them in the rafters. I began collecting surfboards and memorabilia when nobody cared about them. Over 20 years or so, I collected many historical wooden surfboards. I even have the board that my friend Peanuts made in 1934. I thought these boards told stories and were important. More than just objects of nostalgia, the surfboards illustrated the technological innovations and elements of a lifestyle that underscored the popularity of surfing. 

The Birth of a Surf Museum 

In 1999, I founded Surfing Heritage & Culture Center (SHACC). In 2003, Spencer Croul, a surf culture preservationist from Newport Beach, joined the effort and secured our first location in San Clemente. Driven by a vision to document the history of surfing, we combined and cataloged our trove of surfboards and surfing memorabilia and documented oral histories to create the foundation of the nonprofit’s institutional collection. 

Our collection drew the attention of The Smithsonian Institution, which affirmed that surf culture had a place in American history when it accepted curated items from us for the National Museum of American History. Some of those items appeared in “Wave of Innovation: Surfing and The Endless Summer,” an exhibition the museum mounted in 2015. 

Our donations to The Smithsonian included one of the legendary Duke Kahanamoku’s redwood boards, contributed by renowned board shaper Mike Marshall and his surf-historian wife Sharon. 

When we chose a business complex in the hills of San Clemente for our first location, we were looking for enough capacity to house the world’s largest collections of noteworthy surfboards. Now, it’s time to expand to a more visible location where visitors to Orange County and local residents alike can enjoy our world-class collection. We are in the process of selecting a new site. 

With the support of my philanthropic partners at the Orange County Community Foundation, we’re about to embark on an exciting new future. 

What could be better than stepping out of the museum and walking toward the Pacific Ocean to see its inspiration in real time—local surfers catching waves at one of Orange County’s iconic surf breaks? 

The endless summer lives on here in our own backyard. 

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No. 17/13 Track and Field’s Jess and Alonzo score in 10K at SEC Outdoor Championships

Story Links LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 17/13 Texas Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams earned their first points at the SEC Outdoor Championships in the 10,000-meter runs to close out the first day of the three-day meet. Eva Jess scored the first points for the women finishing fifth in […]

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LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 17/13 Texas Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams earned their first points at the SEC Outdoor Championships in the 10,000-meter runs to close out the first day of the three-day meet.

Eva Jess scored the first points for the women finishing fifth in the 10K with her time of 33:52.36. It’s the third-fastest 10K in her career and is the 12th-fastest in school history. Her performance earned Texas four team points. Freshman Sydni Wilkins was just off the scorers in ninth with her time of 35:02.97.

The men were led by Isaac Alonzo’s seventh-place finish with a time of 30:27.54. Alonzo earned two team points for UT.

In the men’s decathlon, Brock Lewis recorded four personal bests and a day one personal best score of 3,698 points after five events. The sophomore began the day running his fastest career 100-meter dash in 11.22 seconds. He added a third-round jump of 6.97m (22-10.5) and a third-round throw of 11.93m (39-1.75) in shot put for two more personal bests.

Lewis added an outdoor PB in the high jump clearing 1.83m (6-0) before running a personal best 400-meter time of 49.79. Lewis sits in seventh place after a monster first day of competition.

Freshman Meagan Humphries ended the first day of the heptathlon also in seventh with 3,269 points. She began the championship meet running the 100-meter hurdles in 14.18 and followed with a clearance of 1.62m (5-3.75) in the high jump.

The California native added her first personal best of the competition in shot put on her first attempt with a heave of 11.31m (37-1.25). She concluded the day running the third-fastest 200-meter of the group in 24.42.

On the track, Kenondra Davis and Holly Okuku were the first Longhorns to advance to a final. Davis posted the third-fastest time of the afternoon with a wind-aided time of 22.58, while Okuku recorded the final spot in the final at 22.88w. Carleta Bernard was the first competitor out with her personal best time of 22.88, while Nita Koom-Dadzie finished in 23.59.

Xavier Butler climbed the Texas record book in the men’s 200-meter running 20.22 in the prelims and qualified for the finals with the fourth-fastest time in the field of 36. The time ties him for second on the UT All-Time Performer list and is tied for the sixth-fastest time in school history.

Sophomore Akala Garrett posted the fastest qualifying time in the women’s 400-meter hurdles in 54.75 to qualify for the finals. Freshman Mackenzie Collins will join Garrett in the finals after posting the seventh best time in 56.93.

The men also sent two to the 400m hurdle finals after Kody Blackwood record the third-fastest time in 49.70. Chris Brinkley also posted the fifth-best time in 50.26 for a personal best and moved to No. 10 on the UT All-Time Performer List.

After three scored events, both the No. 17 men and the No. 13 women are in 11th.

Texas Scorers:

Eva Jess – 10K – 5th (4 pts)

Isaac Alonso – 10K – 7th (2 pts)



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Parks board OKs more court rentals

Evanston’s Parks and Recreation Board approved a plan Thursday that would allow the city’s parks department to offer two-hour basketball and beach volleyball court rentals. The city now offers residents and community affiliate groups the opportunity to rent tennis and pickleball courts, but no process exists for renting outdoor basketball and beach volleyball courts, Tim […]

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Evanston’s Parks and Recreation Board approved a plan Thursday that would allow the city’s parks department to offer two-hour basketball and beach volleyball court rentals.

The city now offers residents and community affiliate groups the opportunity to rent tennis and pickleball courts, but no process exists for renting outdoor basketball and beach volleyball courts, Tim Carter, the city’s lakefront and athletics division manager, told the board.

Carter said in the past year, city staff have received three rental requests for outdoor basketball and beach volleyball courts at Clark Street Beach — one from ETown Girls Feeder Basketball club, a youth girls basketball team that sought to rent outdoor courts for evening practices twice a week in the summer.

Since the city has no formal process and doesn’t allow court rentals, Carter asked for guidance about whether the board thought a similar program to the tennis and pickleball rental process, allowing the public or affiliated groups to rent the space at a fee, could work.

Mason Park tennis courts, already available for rental by the city. Credit: Matthew Eadie

After a discussion, the board unanimously approved a plan to allow basketball courts at Baker, Bent, Foster, Harbert, James, Larimer, Lovelace and Mason parks, and three of the six beach volleyball courts at Clark Street Beach, to be rented for up to two hours.

The key issue some members of the board raised was informing the public about the process to ensure no one shows up to a court only to realize it’s closed off with a reservation.

Carter said the process would be the same as tennis and pickleball, with the reservation receipt serving as a permit. He said he believes there have been no issues with that rental process so far.

The rental rates for both basketball and beach volleyball courts would be $20 per hour for residents, $26 per hour for non-residents — a standard 30% increase — and $10 per hour for community affiliate groups, Carter said.

The fees are the same for tennis and pickleball.

If a court is not rented, it would remain open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

The board approved the plan as a one-year trial to see if any issues or significant complaints arise.



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Delaware lands Major Arena Soccer League franchise

Delaware City FC will begin play this fall in Major Arena Soccer League 3, the third level of the U.S. indoor pro soccer ladder.The Kirkwood Soccer Club’s indoor facility at its complex on Route 9 south of New Castle will be its home.Marlon Trejo, a former Neumann teammate of Matalavage’s and La Bombonera assistant coach, […]

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Delaware lands Major Arena Soccer League franchise


Delaware City FC will begin play this fall in Major Arena Soccer League 3, the third level of the U.S. indoor pro soccer ladder.The Kirkwood Soccer Club’s indoor facility at its complex on Route 9 south of New Castle will be its home.Marlon Trejo, a former Neumann teammate of Matalavage’s and La Bombonera assistant coach, will be the Delaware City FC coach.Semi-pro soccer is returning to Delaware, though this time it’s the indoor game that hopes to find a First State niche.Delaware City FC will begin play this fall in Major Arena Soccer League 3, the third level of the U.S. indoor pro soccer ladder.The Kirkwood Soccer Club’s indoor facility at its complex on Route 9 south of New Castle, long a wintertime haven for area players at all levels, will be its home.“Our goal is to be very community-oriented,” said majority team owner Steven Matalavage, a Milton native who graduated from Cape Henlopen in 2016 and played soccer there and at Neumann University in Aston Township, Pennsylvania.Delaware City FC will play in Major Arena Soccer League 3 at the Kirkwood Soccer Complex in New Castle beginning late this fall.“We’re going to have a very competitive team, but we want to have the kids come out, the travel teams come out. We want it to feel almost like a minor-league baseball game, like the Wilmington Blue Rocks. We want to have the food, the beer for the adults. We really want to make it that type of atmosphere for the community to come out and enjoy.”Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Previous outdoor pro soccer entities in Delaware included the Delaware Wings of the American Soccer League who played at Baynard Stadium in Wilmington from 1972-74; the Delaware Wizards, who frequently drew crowds of 3,000-plus to Glasgow and Newark high schools for their U.S. Interregional Soccer League games, from 1993-2000; and the Delaware Dynasty of the Premier Development League in 2006-07 who played at Kirkwood.

There have also been women’s pro and semi-pro teams, including the Wizards’ Delaware Genies sidekicks which featured several U.S. players in the 1990s, the Central Delaware SA Future which played in the Women’s Premier Soccer League from 2006-08, and the presently constituted Delaware Ospreys, a WPSL under-23 side that begins its 2025 season later this month at Wilmington’s Abessinio Stadium.

There is also a new USL 2 Delaware Osprey’s men’s team operated by Delaware FC starting play this year with home games also at Abessinio Stadium starting June 7. It’s being coached by Binghamton University coach Paul Marco.

Scott Mosier, the Salesianum School coach and Delaware FC sporting director, said USL 2 “is similar to the old Wizards with many top collegiate players.” Mosier played for the Wizards.

Delaware City FC majority owner Steven Matalavage

Matalavage said he and other organizers were inspired by The Soccer Tournament, a seven-player outdoor winner-take-all $1 million event held last year in Cary, North Carolina, won by New Castle’s La Bombonera indoor soccer club, which featured Middletown High grad Chad Poarch. That earned Poarch a spot on the roster of MASL’s Baltimore Blast, where he had a team-high 23 goals this year.

“The MASL Atlantic Division features some of the best-run and most talented teams in the league, and I am very confident Delaware City FC will live up to that reputation very quickly,” said MASL commissioner Chris Economides in the league’s recent announcement of Delaware City FC’s addition.

“With their involvement in soccer at some of the highest levels, they have a great vision of what makes a successful franchise. Wilmington should be excited to welcome MASL brand soccer to its city.”

Tryouts will begin later this summer to build a roster that will likely include at least 20 players for a 10-game MASL 3 schedule commencing in late November. Indoor games have six players on a side. MASL 3 had 27 teams this past season, while the MASL had 12 and MASL 2 had 16.

Marlon Trejo, a former Neumann teammate of Matalavage’s and La Bombonera assistant coach, will be the Delaware City FC coach.

“Indoor is really big here in Wilmington, especially in the Hispanic culture,” Matalavage said. “When I moved up here for work – I’m part owner of a roofing company – I was playing in local leagues. Some of my closest friends and I decided, let’s do something a little more professional and try to get our team in MASL.

“They’re trying to grow and we’re in a good market for four states – Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland – so I think we can get a good talent pool. The big thing is we just want to grow, show the indoor game to a lot of people and to the kids. We have aspirations to get to MASL 2 and then you never know.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.

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University of Southern California – Official Athletics Site

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USC men’s volleyball middle blocker Parker Tomkinson (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) and alumnus OH Kevin Kobrine (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS) were each named to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 30-player long-list roster for the upcoming Volleyball Nations League (VNL), USA Volleyball announced on Thursday, May 15.    The roster features a competitive mix of Olympic […]

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USC men’s volleyball middle blocker Parker Tomkinson (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) and alumnus OH Kevin Kobrine (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS) were each named to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 30-player long-list roster for the upcoming Volleyball Nations League (VNL), USA Volleyball announced on Thursday, May 15. 
 
The roster features a competitive mix of Olympic veterans, seasoned pros, and rising stars—of which Tomkinson is the youngest. The world’s top 18 men’s teams clash for this year’s VNL title over three weeks of preliminary play, with the top eight advancing to the final round.
 
The U.S. Men’s National Team—under the guidance of head coach Karch Kiraly—will select 14 athletes from the preliminary roster to compete at each stop: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 11-15), Hoffman Estates, Illinois (June 25-29), and Chiba, Japan (July 16-20). The VNL Final Round will take place July 30-Aug. 3 in Ningbo, China.
 
“We’re incredibly excited about the talent and depth we have to begin this new Olympic cycle,” said Kiraly. “The veterans on this roster continue to lead by example, while our younger athletes are pushing hard, bringing fresh energy and hunger. It’s a powerful combination. This VNL season will be a vital part of our journey toward the 2025 World Championships and beyond.”
 
The preliminary roster boasts four Olympians, including three who competed in the Paris 2024 Games: libero Erik Shoji, middle blocker Jeff Jendryk, and setter Micah Ma’a. Opposite Kyle Ensing was the official alternate in Paris and competed on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Team.
 
Eleven athletes on the roster have competed in previous VNLs for the U.S.: opposite Gabi Garcia, setter Quinn Isaacson, liberos Mason Briggs and Kyle Dagostino, outside hitters Ethan Champlin, Jordan Ewert and Jacob Pasteur, and middle blockers Patrick Gasman, Matthew Knigge, Michael Marshman and Daniel Wetter.
 
Seven athletes have competed for the senior U.S. National Team in NORCECA events: setter Andrew Rowan, middle blocker Merrick McHenry and outside hitters Nolan Flexen, Camden Gianni, Kaleb Jenness, Zach Rama and Cooper Robinson. Eight have the opportunity to make their debut for the senior U.S. National Team: setters Tread Rosenthal and Michael Wright, opposites Kyle Hobus and Kevin Kobrine, middle blockers Shane Holdaway, Cameron Thorne and Parker Tomkinson, and libero Jacob Reilly.
 
The U.S. men are currently ranked No. 3 in the world and have medaled four times in VNL history, including silver in 2019, 2022 and 2023 and bronze in 2018.
 
U.S. Men National Team Schedule for the 2025 Volleyball Nations League
Matches will be shown live and on-demand onVBTV
All times listed in PDT
 
WEEK 1: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 11 at 10 a.m. vs. Ukraine
June 12 at 5 p.m. vs. Iran
June 14 at 9:30 a.m. vs. Slovenia
June 15 at 1 p.m. vs. Cuba
 
WEEK 2: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
June 25 at 5:30 p.m. vs. China
June 26 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Canada
June 28 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Poland
June 29 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Italy
 
WEEK 3: Chiba, Japan
July 16 at 11:30 p.m. vs. Türkiye
July 18 at 11:30 p.m. vs. Argentina
July 19 at 3:30 a.m. vs. Germany
July 20 at 3:20 a.m. vs. Japan
 
The Trojans (21-7) finished second in the MPSF regular-season standings (8-4) and were awarded the second seed into the conference tournament. There, USC finished as runner-up to Pepperdine, which hosted the championship in Malibu, Calif. USC opened the year with a nine-match win streak for its best start to a season since 1991 (28-0) and won 10 matches in a row (Feb. 26-April 3) for the program’s longest win streak since 2012 (18 in a row). It was the second 20-win season for head coach Jeff Nygaard and the 20th 20-win season in program history. The Trojans spent 13 weeks ranked in the top five and reached as high as No. 3 for the team’s highest ranking since it was also No. 3 in 2015. USC led the MPSF for many weeks in all statistical categories but aces and finished the season as the NCAA leader in blocks (2.86 bps) with 16 matches in double-digits. The Trojans set a new school record for hitting percentage in a match (.691 vs. Dominican, Feb. 8) and hit better than .300 in 19 matches; and hit north of .400 in 10 contests.
 
For more information on the USC men’s volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/MVB. Fans of the Trojans can follow @USCmensvolley on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
 



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Long Beach Poly vs Mayfair Baeball – The562.org

Mike Guardabascio An LBC native, Mike Guardabascio has been covering Long Beach sports professionally for 13 years, with his work published in dozens of Southern California magazines and newspapers. He’s won numerous awards for his writing as well as the CIF Southern Section’s Champion For Character Award, and is the author of three books about […]

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Mike Guardabascio

An LBC native, Mike Guardabascio has been covering Long Beach sports professionally for 13 years, with his work published in dozens of Southern California magazines and newspapers. He’s won numerous awards for his writing as well as the CIF Southern Section’s Champion For Character Award, and is the author of three books about Long Beach history.

http://The562.org



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Galway teams make history in Irish Water Polo Senior Cup – Connacht Tribune

Two Galway teams competed in the Irish Water Polo Senior cup finals for the first time last weekend at the UL Arena Pool. Tribes WPC was participating in their first Women’s Senior final, while Corrib WPC were participating in their fourth men’s final, a competition they last won in 2018. Unfortunately, the results did not […]

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Two Galway teams competed in the Irish Water Polo Senior cup finals for the first time last weekend at the UL Arena Pool.

Tribes WPC was participating in their first Women’s Senior final, while Corrib WPC were participating in their fourth men’s final, a competition they last won in 2018. Unfortunately, the results did not go the way of either team: Tribes WPC lost 13-12 on penalties to St Vincent’s, which completed the double, as the Dublin club side were 14-9 winners over Corrib WPC in the men’s final.

Tribes came into the cup quietly confident having had a strong league season, topping the league table before this competition began, and their first game against Drogheda WPC opened with a strong first quarter.

Opening goals from Laura Casserly, Rachel Corcoran, Iona McDonnell, and Alanah Balcoe helped the Galway side race into a 4-1 lead. Drogheda struck back with three unanswered goals because of two exclusions and a penalty conceded by Tribes, and after a tight opening half, Tribes led 7-5 at the break.

It took Tribes no time at all to find their rhythm in the second-half, however, and quickly opened a commanding lead 13-6 by the end of the third quarter, with two goals from Niamh Connery, one each from Aoife Bundschu and Sophie Moran. Four further goals from the powerful hole-forward, Casserly, saw Tribes finish the game 15-7 winners.

They took on North Dublin in their second group game, knowing a win would see them qualify for a semi-final spot, and Tribes raced into a commanding lead once again, ending the first quarter 4-0 ahead.

Tribes asserted their dominance adding five more goals, before goalkeeper Lana Awaja scored a stunning goal, launching a throw from her own five-metre line, the ball sailing over Catherine Noorlandt’s head in the North Dublin goal and into the net on the buzzer to loud cheers from the packed gallery as Tribes led 9-3 at half-time.

The second half saw Tribes add to their tally with goals from Aishling Walsh and Oliwia Smialek and six in total from Casserly to end the game 14-4 and set-up a semi-final against Diamonds WPC from Belfast, which was a repeat of last year’s semi-final in Bangor which Diamonds won convincingly.

Tribes need not have any fears this time around, having beaten their opponents twice in league fixtures this season, and they opened the scoring through Niamh Connery. They held the lead until an exclusion saw them concede in the last minute of the quarter, but Oliwia Smialek regained the lead in the second with an opportunist goal.

Diamonds, however, again scored off an exclusion to level before Tribes took charge adding two more from Ashling Walsh and Casserly to lead at half time 4-2; and the Belfast side’s resistance was broken in the second half as Tribes exerted pressure on the wings and forced five exclusions and goals from Walsh, Moran, Casserly and McDonnell to lead 8-3 at the end of the third.

A further five goals with Lily Crudden and Lydia McNicholas contributing saw the game end 13-5 to Tribes and a place in the final for the first time.

The final was a repeat of the league game against the same opposition and at the same venue a week earlier, which St Vincent’s won on penalties.

The first quarter was a nervous affair for both teams, with neither side finding the breakthrough, before Bundschu broke the deadlock with a well taken goal from an acute angle on the right.

Casserly and Connery added to the lead, but St. Vincents responded with goals from Cliona Colvin and Keri Noonan to leave the score tied 3-3 at half time. Connery and Casserly again struck in the second-half to build a two-goal cushion, St Vincent’s replied, Casserly scored twice, and St Vincent’s called a time out to halt the gallop of the Tribes onslaught.

Pictured: The Tribes Water Polo Club squad which was beaten in the final of the Irish Water Polo Senior Cup at the UL Arena Pool last weekend. Back row, from left: Teresa Moran (manager), Alice Corcoran, Aoife Bundschu, Sophie Moran, Rachel Corcoran, Maebh Crudden, Sarah Bradley, Alannah Blacoe, and Goran Sablic (head coach). Front: Mariusz Smialek (assistant coach), Iona McDonnell, Niamh Connery, Lily Crudden, Lana Awaja, Laura Casserly (MVP), Oliwia Smialek, Aishlin Walsh, and Lydis McNicholas. Photo: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo.



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