It was only one day ago, but the Cerritos College women's water polo team will have to gear up to face their rival again once the Southern California Regional Playoffs begin at Fullerton College next week. The Falcons (28-3), fresh off their 11-6 South Coast Conference Championship win over Long Beach City College on Saturday, found out they would be facing that same team at 9:00 a.m. on Friday in the second round of the playoffs. Cerritos, seeded #4 for the playoffs, will be taking on the #5-seeded Vikings for the third time this year.

Prior to winning their second SCC title in a row - and fifth in the last seven seasons - Cerritos had a hard-fought 12-11 overtime win in their conference match earlier in the year. In their clinching win, the Falcons opened up a 6-0 lead in the second quarter and never looked back in winning their seventh match in a row entering the post-season. The winner of the playoff game on Friday will take on either #1-seeded Golden West College or their yet-to-be-determined opponent on Saturday.

Cerritos boasts the scoring tandem of sophomore Katherine Gabayeron (Cerritos HS) and freshman Angelica Hernandez (El Rancho HS), who have scored 90 and 80 goals, respectively, with Gabayeron fifth in the state. Sophomore goalie Sharon Ku (Cerritos HS) also ranks second in the state with 295 saves on the year.

For the complete Southern California Regional brackets, click HERE.

The top two teams from Southern California and Northern California advance to the state championships, which will take place at DeAnza College on November 16-17.

Photo by Daryl Peterson