MIAMI — National Champions?
For the second time in three years, the Seminole High School girls water polo team proved it is a dominant force in the state, defeating West Orange, 8-4, in the FHSAA State Water Polo Championship Game on Saturday (April 25) at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School.
The victory capped a second perfect 31-0 season and State Championship in three years for the Fighting Seminoles, who came into the event as the top-ranked team in the nation by MaxPreps, and avenged a loss in the 2025 State Championship Game to Guliver Prep. The Tribe has now recorded a remarkable 90-2 record over the past three years. SHS also bested West Orange in the 2024 final.
“Our whole game plan defensively revolved around Julia (Pando, the goalkeeper) playing well and she exceeded expectations,” SHS Head Coach Ryan Ackerson said. “We were a few defensive mistakes away from her getting a shutout today. She was huge for us today. The other girls helped her out as well with outstanding defensive effort.”
Meanwhile, the Seminole High Boys (26-5) fell in the State Semifinals for the third consecutive season, getting outscored, 13-10, despite four goals from Becton Suber and three goals from Darian West, by eventual State Champion St. Thomas Aquinas from Fort Lauderdale and in the Tennis State Championships, the Lake Mary High School boys were eliminated in the Class 4A Quarterfinals, 4-2, by Tampa-Steinbrenner at Sanlando Park and the Trinity Prep boys won their Class 1A Quarterfinal, 5-0, over Tampa-Berkley Prep before being ousted by top-seeded True North Academy, 6-0, in the Semifinals at Red Bug Lake Park.
The SHS girls reached its third straight state final with a 20-9 semifinal victory over St. Thomas Aquinas with Halle Zimlich (seven) and Swain (five) combined for 12 goals.
The Championship Game saw Seminole control the match from the opening whistle, building an early lead behind Zimlich and Swain. Zimlich opened the scoring late in the first quarter with the first of her two goals. Swain followed with 1:35 remaining, and Zimlich added another before the end of the period to give the Seminoles a 3-0 lead. Swain finished with four goals in the final.
The second quarter proved decisive as Swain converted on consecutive 5-meter penalty opportunities, extending the lead to 5-0 at halftime.
“The movement offensively was the key to drawing the penalty shots,” Seminole coach Ryan Ackerson said. “They ran the offensive plays with great discipline and detail, which was an emphasis all season, so we were happy to see that.”
Ackerson added that the physical nature of the match was expected.
“That’s just how it goes when you have two teams fighting for a state title,” he said. “Our girls had experienced it before, so they were ready.”
West Orange cut the deficit to three early in the third quarter, but Seminole responded behind strong defense and timely scoring. Pando anchored the effort with key saves as the Fighting Seminoles maintained control throughout the second half.
Pando finished with eight saves and a steal. On the season, she recorded 198 saves and four assists.
For the season, Swain led the team with 115 goals, 87 assists and 40 steals, while Zimlich added 94 goals, 41 assists and 64 steals.
With both set to graduate, Ackerson acknowledged the challenge ahead.
“I don’t know if it’s possible to truly have a replacement for those two, for more reasons than just their playing ability,” he said. “But other girls have to and will step up during the offseason. We are expecting a big freshman class this next year with girls who will be hungry to keep developing.”
However, the Tribe returns a solid core of players who now have at least two — and in some cases three — trips to the state finals, keeping the program’s outlook strong.
Juniors Raelynn Bouley contributed one goal, two assists, one steal and drew two exclusions in the final. Abigail Coleman added a goal, while Gabby Pierson had two steals and drew an exclusion. Naia Hair recorded two steals and finished the season third on the team in scoring with 77 goals.
Both Seminole teams were led by Head Coach Ryan Ackerson, who was assisted by Julian Bame, Tony Ackerson, Luke Jongsma and Griffin Ciancimino.
Making up the boys roster were _ Seniors: Marly Hessing, Luc Leroy, Ethan Pierson, Timmy Samples, Becton Suber, Adam Walker, Darian West; Juniors: Adi Singh, Brayden Tarkowski; Sophomores: Matthew Hoang, Warren Krummick, Caden Otis; and Freshmen: Colton Brown, Aswin Sureshkumar and Caiden Thompson.
Making up the girls roster were _ Seniors: Vivian Swain, Halle Zimlich; Juniors: Raelynn Bouley, Abigail Coleman, Julia Pando, Delilah Parker, Gabby Pierson; Sophomores: Chasity Black, Grace Lee, Sally Sunnenberg; and Freshmen: Paige Allen, Ava Ellis, Baylee Grandieri, Naia Hair, Leila Nabi and Arrington Suber.
Go to _ www.FHSAA.com _ and look under Sports and then Spring to look for the specific sport for more tournament information.
Here are the results:
FHSAA STATE WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Gian Zumpano Aquatic Center, Miami
BOYS
Semifinals
Friday, April 24
Game 1 _ (2) St. Thomas Aquinas (25-4) 13, (3) Seminole (26-5) 10.
Game 2 _ (1) Ransom Everglades (28-2) 13, (4) Westminster Academy (16-11) 12, overtime.
Final
Saturday, April 25
Game 3 _ Championship: (2) St. Thomas Aquinas (26-4) 14, (1) Ransom Everglades (27-3) 12.
GIRLS
Semifinals
Friday, April 24
Game 1 _ (1) Seminole (30-0) 20, (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (19-9) 9.
Game 2 _ (2) West Orange (23-2) 12, (3) Gulliver Prep (20-3) 5.
Final
Saturday, April 25
Game 3 _ Championship: (1) Seminole (31-0) 8, (2) West Orange (23-3) 4.
BOYS TENNIS
FHSAA State Championship
Class 4A
At Sanlando Park
Quarterfinals
Monday, April 27
Steinbrenner defeated Lake Mary, 4-2.
Class 1A
At Red Bug Lake Park
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, April 29
Trinity Prep defeated Berkley Prep, 5-0.
Semifinals
Thursday, April 30
(1) True North defeated (4) Trinity Prep, 6-0.
