Westminster and St. Thomas Aquinas fall in state semifinals
MIAMI — Broward County’s two representatives in the FHSAA state water polo tournament came up empty in the state semifinals at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School on Friday.
Gulliver Prep, the state’s top-ranked girls’ water polo team, relied on experience and senior Alissa Pascual’s career-high 13 goals as it cruised past an undermanned Westminster Academy 31-9 in the state semifinal at the Gian Zumpano Aquatic Center.
St. Thomas Aquinas (19-8) dropped a 19-11 decision to Gulliver Prep (25-0) in their boys’ semifinal matchup late Friday night.
On Saturday, Lake Nona (18-0) topped Gulliver Prep (17-1) in the girls’ title game, 12-6, while Gulliver Prep (25-0) successfully defended its boys’ championship with a 22-11 victory over Dr. Phillips (17-3). It was the Raiders’ 65th consecutive win dating back to the 2019 season.
Westminster Academy girls’ water polo coach Daniel Cercols said his season was “great,” despite the result.
The only other time Westminster Academy had reached the state semifinals came in 2012 when it lost 17-7 to Winter Park.
Westminster scored first on a goal by junior Karsen Reeves before Gulliver Prep took control and scored eight of the next nine to seize an 8-2 lead at the end of the first period.
Westminster was able to pull to within 10-5 on three long-range goals from Abby Weissman before the Raiders put the game away scoring 17 straight points over the second and third quarters. Lions’ sophomore goalkeeper Melanie Gianino scored twice from distance.
Westminster Academy’s Emma Weissman, who led the team with 79 goals this season, was held in check most of the game and scored just once.
“I think they have a big difference between club players and regular players,” Cercols said. “We have one girl [Lynn Rose Ruiz] who plays club, the rest are swimmers, a cheerleader, and a basketball player. They [Gulliver] are a strong team. They have 18 players and we have nine.”
“I think this year, because of the pandemic, players didn’t play club water polo or tournaments,” he added. “The club players play six months to a year, and that is huge. Maybe after this, they will want to go out and play club.”
It was the most goals allowed by the 11th ranked Lions (13-3) this season, eclipsing the 18 goals it gave up in an 18-4 loss to Boca Raton. The 31 goals also surpassed the total number of goals Westminster Academy allowed in its past four games combined.
Westminster Academy was making its first appearance in the state series since 2015 when it lost in the state play-in game and 2014 when it lost in the state quarters.
“My girls need more experience,” Cercols said. “This was too big for them. They were nervous.”
Gulliver Prep reached the title game for the first time since 2017, when it fell to Orlando Olympia 7-4. The Raiders won four consecutive state titles from 2005 to 2008. Of its 18 players, seven are club water polo, and nearly half of the Raiders’ team is made up of middle schoolers.
Gulliver Prep broke its state record of 30 goals in a finals game that is set in a 2007 state quarterfinal against Lake Mary.
Gulliver Prep’s boys defeated St. Thomas 18-5 and 24-12 during the season. They have won 65 straight matches and two state championships dating back to the 2019 season. Their last loss came against Olympia, 14-9 in a tournament on Feb. 23, 2019.
“Our boys played better than before,” said St. Thomas Aquinas coach Michael Goldenberg. “They never backed down. Gulliver had to keep all their starters in the whole game. We had our chances but didn’t convert on a lot of them.”
Every time, the Raiders started to mount a comeback, Gulliver found an answer to halt the momentum.
“They are an experienced, seniorheavy team, and we are a sophomore heavy team,” Goldenberg added. “Experience matters. As always, we start preparing for next season on Monday.”
Gulliver senior Bruno Rebessi scored the game’s first three goals as they opened up a 3-0 lead. St. Thomas Aquinas answered on a goal by senior Luka Vlasic with 1:17 remaining in the first period. Rebessi finished with a game-high 10 goals.
St. Thomas pulled to within 5-3 in a goal by senior Amaldo Castillo with 5:07 remaining in the first half. It was the closest the Raiders would come to Gulliver Prep the rest of the game as they pulled to within five on two separate occasions after that.
Castillo finished with two goals, while sophomores Ivan Horna, Nick Santarsiero, and senior Giovanni Franco each had one goal. Vlasic, who scored six times, finished the year with 96 goals.
Goldenberg said it was a rough year for the team which lost its starting goalkeeper before the year started and had another top player (sophomore Dylan Chaimowicz) dislocated his shoulder a week before the state finals. St. Thomas won its only state championship in 2013.