Boys’ water polo: Servite, Cathedral earn CIF-SS titles

The Servite Friars and Cathedral Phantoms captured CIF-Southern Section boys’ water polo titles Nov. 10 at William Woollett Aquatic Center in Irvine.

The Friars, coached by Andy Coffman, won their fifth CIF-SS water polo title (and their first since 2005) by defeating Los Osos 13-11 in the Division II final, as Christian Martinez scored six goals and Guillermo Ocasio scored three. Servite previously won CIF titles in 1982, 1998 and 2002, and was a finalist in 1994 and 2008.

Cathedral, meanwhile, surprised second-seeded Baldwin Park in the Division 7 finals, posting a 12-7 victory, with Daniel Hernandez scoring five goals. For the seventh-seeded Phantoms, coached by Juan Salais, it was their first CIF-SS title and their first finals appearance.

Both Servite and Cathedral, along with D-1 semifinalist Loyola, qualified for the CIF Southern California Regional Championships held Nov. 16-17 at Ocean View and Segerstrom High Schools. Results:

• Division I: Loyola (22-9) won its first-round match over Cathedral Catholic of San Diego, 16-11, but the Cubs were beaten in the regional semifinals, 12-9, by Harvard-Westlake.
• Division II: Servite (23-9) defeated Canyon Crest Academy, 17-8, in the first round, then lost, 17-9, to eventual champion Vista in the semis.
• Division III: Cathedral (16-10) lost to eventual champion Palisades, 15-5, in the first round.

Because of poor air quality from brush fire smoke, the Northern California Regionals were cancelled.

Mike Nelson is the former editor of The Tidings (predecessor of Angelus News).

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