The Mini-Atom and Atom Estevan Sharks water polo teams traveled to Weyburn over the weekend to compete in their first tournament of the new year.

The Atom Boys Tiger Sharks kicked off their tournament with three straight wins before losing their fourth and final game against Weyburn 11-6. Logan Dalziel led the way for the Tiger Sharks, scoring 14 goals. The Boys Sand Sharks also rattled off three straight wins to open the tournament before tying Weyburn at 7-7 in their final game. Dierks Milford and his younger brother Brooks combined for 17 goals in four games.

The Mini-Atom Hammerhead and Tiger Sharks took wins in their first contests of the tournament before squaring off with each other. In the head to head match up, the Tiger Sharks swam past the Hammerheads to a 5-1 victory with Soren Peterson scoring three points in the win.

In the afternoon on Sunday, the Atom Girls Sharks saw two teams enter the pool in Weyburn. The Whale Sharks went 3-1 with Sadie, Alandra, and Tayla Gervais getting in on the scoring. The Reef Sharks lost a few tight games on their way to a 1-3 record with Alianna Young, Emily Sauter and Jordyn Tarnes leading the way offensively.

The Atom Sharks will return to the water on Sunday, March 11th for the provincial league finals in Regina.

Story submitted by: Melanie Dzeryk

On Sunday the Mini-Atom and Atom Sharks travelled to Weyburn for their first tournament after the break. 

The morning started off with the boys Atom Shark teams hitting the water.  The boys submitted two boys teams in the Weyburn tournament. Tiger Sharks: Logan Dalziel, Jace Carritt, Joshua Heleta, Kristian Baniulis, Karson Mvula, Casey Olney and Keegan Kindlein which was coached by Jason Dalziel.  The Sand Sharks: Lucas Dzeryk, Dierks Milford, Brooks Milford, Brody Turner, Noah Mvula, and Shiven Sangar was coached by David Dzeryk. 

The Tiger Sharks started their day with a fast paced 11-5 win followed by 2 further wins of 12-2 and 8-6. They came up short on their 4th and final game against Weyburn of 11-6.  They all worked very well as a team and had a lot of great passes.  The boys scored a total of 37 goals with Logan Dalziel earning 14 goals with 1 of them being a penalty shot, along with Kristian Baniulis with 9, Jace Carritt and Josh Heleta with 6 each and Karson Mvula with 2.   Casey Olney and Keegan Kindlein also did very well in net!  The Sand Sharks also came out strong winning 3 games at 9-3, 11-8, 8-6 with a tie against Weyburn at 7-7. Scoring a total of 35 goals,  Dierks Milford had 11 goals and played awesome with his younger brother Brooks at 6 goals. In the 3rd game the Milford brothers scored 6 out of the 8 goals at 3 each. Lucas Dzeryk led the team and played a strong defensive game at 7 goals and Noah Mvulva and Shiven Sanger at 3 goals each. Brody Turner also played very well and did awesome in net!  With only 6 players, the Sand Sharks had some help from their fellow Tiger Shark teammates with Lucas Dzeryk scoring 1 goal, Kristian Banilius with 3 and Jace Carritt with 2.  Overall the Tiger Sharks and Sand Sharks had a strong successful day with great teamwork and lots of fun!

Next up were the Mini-Atoms who also had two teams entered in the tournament.  The Hammerhead Sharks went head to head against the Commandship Armada team in the first game of the tournament. Taking the win at 7 to 2. Royce Milford and Brexon Jesse scored two points each.  Cruz Carritt of the Tiger Sharks kept up the pace, scoring two points to help take the game against Weyburn.  In the Hammerhead Sharks vs Tiger Sharks game, the Tiger Sharks clean up with a score of 5-1 and Soren Peterson scored 3 points that game.  This will be the end of the Mini-Atom season but coaches Cassidy Reich and Chad Knoll both said that players have developed a ton since their first tournament and many will be ready to move up to the Atom division next season.

To round off the tournament in the afternoon the girls Atom Sharks took to the water with two teams.  Both teams showed incredible teamwork, sportsmanship, and athleticism.  The Whale Sharks had an awesome day - finishing with a record of 3 wins and only 1 loss.  Their senior players lead the way with long passes and hard shots, showing no mercy in all games. Sadie Smith, Rachel Tober and Alandra Young played tight defence, taking away many scoring chances. Sadie, Alandra, and Tayla Gervais all scored many quick goals. Prysm Gooding played with her signature vocal and aggressive style - keeping everyone, moving . Rookie player, Kate Dalziel had good saves against a strong Regina team and worked hard all day!   The Reef Sharks won one game, and lost the other 3. However, all three losses were very close games. They had a solid effort from their entire team as well. Lily Knoll rocked it in net - saving a lot of very hard shots. Rookie Mahlyn Bomerak started the day off scoring the first goal of the tournament. Alianna Young, Emily Sauter and Jordyn Tarnes were top scoring players. Brooke Dzeryk and Mahlyn had great mid-field play and did great defensively.

The Atom Sharks will see their next tournament play on March 11 for the Provincial League Finals which will be held in Regina.