Panthers begin regionals Friday
No. 7 Porterville faces No. 2 Arroyo Grande at Clovis North, 2:20 p.m.
Unlike previous seasons when all California high school water polo seasons came to an end in the section finals, the introduction of CIF Northern and Southern Regional playoffs in 2017 have provided teams a shot at one more championship.
Last season the Orange Belt sent two teams to the Norcal Division II Regionals and this year the Central Section Div. II champion Panthers of Porterville High School’s girls water polo team is making their first appearance.
Already the East Yosemite League and Div. II Valley champion, Porterville (25-5, 8-0 EYL) hopes to add one more championship title to their resume with a top finish at the twoday Norcal Regional playoffs.
Hosted at Clovis North High School, the Panthers come in as the seventh-seed and face the second-seeded Eagles of Arroyo Grande (24-7, 10-0 ML) in a 2:20 p.m. opening round game Friday. General admission is $9 while students with ASB cards, children and seniors pay $5. Parking is $5 per vehicle.
Playing in Div. I, Arroyo Grande was the top-seed but lost 6-5 to back-to-back Div. I Valley champion Clovis (24-9), who had the second-seed, in the section championship game last Saturday at the Fresno
State Aquatics Center.
Also playing on Saturday, Porterville defended their No. 1 seed with a 10-7 win over last year's Valley champion, sixth-seeded Redwood (21-12). The Panthers are on an 11game winning streak.
Porterville and Arroyo Grande haven't met this season but since the Panthers tend to play up they have played common opponents. Against common opponents — three of whom were in the Eagles' Mountain League — Arroyo Grande is 14-2, while Porterville is 5-4.
The winner of Friday's game will play the winner of the sixthseeded Clovis West (1317) and third-seeded St. Francis (16-12) opening round game.