Championship runs: West Orange girls and Dr. Phillips boys water polo teams fighting for state titles

Following their region championship wins, the Lady Warriors and Panthers are both two wins away from bringing home a state championship trophy.

By Sam Albuquerque
| 6:15 p.m. April 18, 2024

Sports

The West Orange High girls and Dr. Phillips boys water polo teams both won their respective region championships — adding to their district titles earlier this season — and have clinched a spot in the FHSAA state championship tournament final four.

The Lady Warriors (24-5) topped Westminster Academy (18-5) by a score of 18-3 and locked in their spot in the final four.

West Orange is slotted to play Gulliver Prep (20-3) for a place in the state title game against the winner of the Seminole High/Miami Country Day semifinal game. The two played earlier this season, with Gulliver Prep topping West Orange, 8-6.

On the boy’s side of the bracket, Dr. Phillips (28-2) narrowly got past district rival West Orange (22-7), 13-12.

The Panthers will face St. Thomas Aquinas High (16-12) for a state championship game berth against the winner of the Seminole/Gulliver Prep matchup.

All state semifinal games, boys and girls, will take place Friday, April 19, at the Gian Zumpano Aquatic Center at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami, with both finals taking place Saturday, April 20.

Sam Albuquerque is the Sports Editor for the Orange Observer. Please contact him with story ideas, results and statistics.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @SamBAlbuquerque

Instagram: @OrangeObserverSam

author

Sam Albuquerque

A native of João Pessoa, Brazil, Sam Albuquerque moved in 1997 to Central Florida as a kid. After earning a communications degree in 2016 from the University of Central Florida, he started his career covering sports as a producer for a local radio station, ESPN 580 Orlando. He went on to earn a master’s degree in editorial journalism from Northwestern University, before moving to South Carolina to cover local sports for the USA Today Network’s Spartanburg Herald-Journal. When he’s not working, you can find him spending time with his lovely wife, Sarah, newborn son, Noah, and dog named Skulí.