By Mike Clark
Yahir Jimenez’ final season of water polo was one to remember.
The Young/Rauner senior rallied the Dolphins to their third straight Public League title with a 13-11 overtime win against Lane on May 9 at the UIC Natatorium.
Then he helped Young/Rauner take fourth at state for its third state trophy in four years. The Dolphins finished 25-7.
Now, Jimenez will be moving on to the next chapter in his life. He’ll attend UIC to study criminal justice.
“He had an option to play (college water polo), but he really wants to focus on school,” Dolphins coach Angelo Espinoza said. “So I applaud him for making that mature decision to focus on school and his education.”
Jimenez scored seven goals against Lane, which twice led by two goals in the first half. The teams were tied at 10 after regulation and Alex Ivascu put the Champions up 11-10 in overtime before the Dolphins scored the last three goals — two by Aaron Huie and one by Jimenez. Huie finished with three goals.
It was just one in a series of close games between the rivals this spring. Young won 7-6 in double overtime in the regular season and 11-9 in the Lane Sectional final with a state berth on the line.
“We knew it was gonna be a dogfight,” Jimenez said. “(But) we didn’t know they were gonna give us all that they gave us.
“We were down. I just wanted to get these boys back in it. We’ve got the boys to do it, too. They’re all freshmen, they come in and do their job. And that’s all I can ask.”
As much as anything, Jimenez didn’t want a repeat of his first high-school season.
“I’ve got history here (at UIC) and my coach knows it, too,” Jimenez said. “Freshman year, I hit the post and got blocked one on one against Curie. And now I got to do it right.”
Espinoza wasn’t surprised to see Jimenez come up big in the final.
“He’s always done that,” Espinoza said. “… Down the line, we can always count on him to help us out.”
Ivascu led Lane, which finished 22-6, with six goals and Mateo Venegas added three.
“They’re super fast, great shooters,” Espinoza said of the Champions. “Tenacious, they never gave up. … You saw how fast they were in the water.”
Photos by Ashley Harris/OSA
