Wildcats glimpse glory

The Winter Park girls water polo team had only lost three games all season going into the state championship. And they'd lost all three to the same team. Saturday, across the waves of the big pool in the YMCA Aquatic Center, they stared down Ransom Everglades for the fourth time, hoping to change history.

Ransom already held the state title from last season, with a record-setting 29-0 season heading into the final game.

Jumping into the pool for the Wildcats in what would be her final game, Nicole Tobin was poised for what would have to be the game of her career. But she'd already given an exhaustive performance earlier in the day, scoring seven goals to pull off the narrowest of wins against Miami Country Day.

To win it all, the girls would have to beat a team that had already been seen as the best in the state. The Wildcats had been easily outmatched by Ransom in previous games.

Early on, the tone was the same as Ransom exploded to a 9-0 lead, keeping the Wildcats at bay with the brick wall defense of goalie Ashleigh Johnson.

With just a few seconds left in the half, the Wildcats struck back. Early in the second, they struck back again, chipping away at the Raiders' lead.

But by game's end, it wouldn't be enough for the Wildcats to win their first ever championship. They fell 14-5. But with a core group of returning players, the Wildcats will have a deep playoff run to use to their advantage in the next season.

Softball

A promising run into the postseason was cut short for the Trinity Prep Saints, who fell 5-0 to Mount Dora Bible in the first round of the playoffs last Tuesday. For the Saints, who won the state championship in 2007, this is the first time in five seasons that they haven't made it out of the first round of the regional playoffs.