Girls Water Polo Southern California Regional Finals
When: Saturday
Where: Long Beach City College
Tickets: $12 for adults and $8 for students, children and seniors, available online only at gofan.co; additional fees apply.
Division 3: (2) Lake Balboa Birmingham (20-9) vs. (1) Coronado 22-7, 11 a.m.
Preview: Audrey Roberts and Baleri Garces spearhead Coronado, which is making its fourth regional appearance in five years. In the San Diego Section playoffs, they won the Division 2 title. This is a finals encore for Birmingham, which fell to Cathedral Catholic in last year’s title contest. The Patriots won this year’s Los Angeles Section Division 1 title. Coronado is looking to become the fourth straight local school to win the SoCal Division 3 crown.
Division 2: (2) Whittier La Serna (26-8) vs. (1) La Jolla (23-7), 12:30 p.m.
Preview: La Jolla seeks its second SoCal title to go with the 2022 crown won in its only other finals appearance. Juniors Avianna Cavaiola and Cora Pfau spark the Vikings, who lost in the San Diego Section Open Division semifinals. In the SoCal semifinals, they beat fifth-seeded Carlsbad 13-6, while La Serna ousted No. 6 Helix 10-8. During a regular-season tournament, La Jolla topped La Serna 17-8 on Jan. 17. The Lancers later won the Southern Section Division 2 championship.
— GLAE THIEN