Bobcats fall to Seaholm

By Mike Selecky
Posted Thursday, August 28, 2008

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By Michael Selecky
VIEW Sports Writer

BIRMINGHAM — Tuesday evening’s trip to Macomb County marked the beginning of the boys’ 2008 water polo season for Grand Blanc. While the Bobcats came out and fought hard, in the end it was Birmingham Seaholm that walked away with the 9-6 victory.

“It was the first game in their brand-new, amazing pool. Seaholm is a very good team that plays well together, finishing second at districts last year. We, however, were missing Tyler Bennark, who’s one of our captains, the fastest swimmer on the team and one of our best players. He was out with a minor injury,” said coach Dan Command. “This is what I expected from my team and we’re right on track for the season.”

Statistically, Grand Blanc’s top scorers were Aaron Ducharme, Victor George and Mike Hicks, as each athlete managed to find the back of the net twice. In the steals category, Ducharme topped the charts for the Bobcats with three, followed by Joe Reeder with two and Nick Martin, Tim Sippell, Hicks and Brett Dryer made one theft apiece.

In the shot department, it was Sippell that took top honors with five, Dryer, Hicks, George and Ducharme were next with three each and Martin had two. Dryer also managed a pair of ejections.

“The team improved as the game progressed, which is a great thing to see early in the season. We’re not running our main offense or defense yet because it’s so early in the year and we have a lot to work on, but that’s what practice is for,” Command said. “Our junior varsity team lost 11-5. This is expected because our JV team is made up of almost all first-year players. They’ll grow all season as they learn the game.”

Grand Blanc is now 0-1. They play Tuesday against Troy Athens, and on Sept. 11 they travel to Troy. On Sept. 16, the Bobcats will play at Ann Arbor Huron.