West Orange girls water polo claims regional title

The Lady Warriors claim their second consecutive regional championship, top Dr. Phillips, 15-6, in title game.

By Sam Albuquerque
| 12:00 a.m. April 24, 2025

Sports
High Schools

After graduating seven seniors from its 2024 state runner-up team, West Orange High girls water polo have won a second straight regional championship and again reach the State Final Four.

The Lady Warriors met area rivals Dr. Phillips High in the Region 2 title game — after topping the Lady Panthers in the district championship game in a penalty shootout just 10 days prior — and took care of business with a 15-6 win.

West Orange juniors Kate Beracoechea and Lindsay Gato led the way in the Final Four-clinching win. Beracoechea bagged four goals and handed out two assists while Gato dished out five assists and found the back of the net once.

The experienced Warriors (17-5), led by longtime coach Jennifer Dailer and senior Bailey Dunn — who leads the team in with 71 goals, 53 assists and 101 steals — will face off against Gulliver Prep (25-1) in a rematch of last year’s state semifinals at 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami. If West Orange advances, it’ll play the following day for the state championship.

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.