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WALNUT — Foothill’s girls water polo team wanted its season to end with a historic win.
That’s why the Knights decided to opt out of this week’s CIF Southern California Regional, coach Paden Mitchell said.
Foothill (21-11) qualified by reaching the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals and went on to claim its first section championship since 2007.
“They want to end on a high note,” Mitchell said of this players Saturday after the Knights’ 7-4 victory against San Clemente in the Division 1 final at Mt. SAC. “It was up to them. They chose. I can’t fault the girls who got to be in the water and do it.”
“They wanted (Saturday) to be their last game together as a team,” added the coach, who guided Foothill to a Division I regional crown in 2023. “We’re really big on those kind of things.”
Foothill’s decision opened a spot in the regional for Division 1 semifinalist Beckman, which lost to Foothill.
The Patriots open the Division I regional at two-time defending CIF-SS Division 1 champion Oaks Christian on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Open Division runner-up Mater Dei, Open Division semifinalist Newport Harbor and Division 1 runner-up San Clemente are the other Orange County teams in the regional.
Mater Dei, seeded second to Oaks Christian, plays host to San Diego Open Division runner-up Valhalla on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
No. 3 Newport Harbor plays host to San Clemente at 3 p.m. in another first-round match.
The semifinals are Thursday with the Division I finals set for Saturday at Long Beach City at 2 p.m. The regional also includes Division II and III.
